London pre-open: Stocks to nudge up but recession fears continue to weigh

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to nudge up at the open on Thursday following losses in the previous session, as recession worries continue to play on investors' minds. The FTSE 100 was called to open just five points higher at 7,494.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "European markets fell for the third day in succession yesterday weighed down by concerns over weak economic data, and a stickier inflation outlook, while US markets also continued their own run of losses with the S&P500 closing lower for the fifth day in succession.

"There appears to be little in the way of significant direction in markets at the moment, hardly surprising given next week's looming central bank decisions, and we will probably continue to see further scratchiness in the upcoming days."

In corporate news, infrastructure builder Balfour Beatty said it expected annual profit to be ahead of expectations due to positive net interest income and lower tax charges.

The company said full-year revenue was expected to be 5% ahead of 2021's £8.3bn and lifted cash-flow guidance to £800m from £740-£780m.

Elsewhere, DS Smith lifted its full-year outlook as it hailed an "excellent performance" in the first half.

In the six months to 31 October, pre-tax profit jumped 80% to £315m on revenue of £4.3bn, up 28% on the same period a year earlier.

Chief executive Miles Roberts said: "The macroeconomic outlook for the rest of the financial year remains challenging. However, we have an excellent customer base, efficient high-quality assets, dedicated colleagues and a strong balance sheet allowing continued organic investment to support our customers.

"These benefits, combined with current momentum in the business, mean we now expect FY23 performance to be ahead of previous expectations with H2 being consistent with H1."