London pre-open: Stocks seen down ahead of data slew

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set for a weaker open on Tuesday following a downbeat session on Wall Street, amid ongoing concerns about protests in China and ahead of a slew of UK data. The FTSE 100 was called to open 18 points lower at 7,492.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "European markets started the week on the back foot yesterday as sporadic unrest across China sparks a selloff in global equities. The weakness spread across to the US, where we saw similar weakness on reports that Apple's iPhone sales could be impacted to the tune of 6m handsets from the current disruption.

"With the rest of the world enjoying life, watching the Football World Cup and learning to live with Covid without masks, Chinese authorities are continuing to double down on a strategy that has zero chance of success, and a population increasingly weary after two years of on-off restrictions, and with no endgame in sight."

On the macroeconomic front, net lending, consumer credit and mortgage approvals data for October are due at 0930 GMT.

In corporate news, budget airline easyJet narrowed full-year losses and said it was ramping up preparations for next summer as travellers looked for value for money during the cost-of-living crisis.

The company posted an annual pre-tax loss of £208m compared with a £1bn loss during the Covid pandemic which shut down air travel.

Elsewhere, AstraZeneca said it had agreed to buy biotechnology company Neogene for up to $320m.

Neogene is a clinical-stage company pioneering the discovery, development and manufacturing of next-generation T-cell receptor therapies (TCR-Ts) that offer a novel cell therapy approach for targeting cancer.

"With a shared goal of bringing cell therapies to patients with solid tumours, Neogene's expertise in TCR-T discovery, development and manufacturing will strengthen AstraZeneca's ambition to transform outcomes for patients," it said.