London pre-open: Stocks seen down as Barclays reports

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to fall at the open on Tuesday following losses on Wall Street, with Barclays results in focus. The FTSE 100 was called to open around 10 points lower.

Investors will be mulling the latest policy announcement from China, where the PBoC kept the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) unchanged at 3.45%, as expected. However, it surprised markets by cutting the five-year LPR by 25 basis points to 3.95%. This marked the first time the five-year rate was cut since May 2023.

ING said: "The cut to the 5-year LPR is likely aimed at supporting the recovery of the property market, and could improve affordability for buyers by lowering the mortgage rates.

"However, banks were already facing record low net interest margins as of the third quarter of 2023, and have been tasked with extending loans to support troubled property developers. The 5-year LPR cut could add further pressure to Chinese bank margins."

In UK corporate news, Barclays Bank reported a fall in annual earnings after fourth-quarter profits dropped by 92%.

Pre-tax profit for the year to the end of December 2023 came in at £6.55bn, down 6%. Fourth-quarter earnings were £110m compared with £1.3bn a year ago.

It added that it planned to return at least £10bn of capital to shareholders between 2024 and 2026, through dividends and share buybacks, "with a continued preference for buybacks".

InterContinental Hotels Group reported strong full-year trading in its final results for 2023, with global revenue per available room (RevPAR) up 16.1% year-on-year and 10.9% compared to 2019.

The company recorded notable growth in the Americas, EMEAA, and Greater China regions, with significant increases in average daily rate and occupancy. Total gross revenue came in at $31.6bn, up 23%, while it swung to a reported operating profit of $1.07bn from a loss of $105m.

IHG said it was aiming for high single-digit percentage growth in fee revenue going forward amid continued investment in the business, sustainable growth in dividends, and ongoing share buybacks to achieve a 12% to 15% adjusted earnings per share compound annual growth rate.