London pre-open: Stocks seen flat; US PPI eyed

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set for a flat open on Tuesday as investors eyed the release of the latest US inflation reading. The FTSE 100 was called to open unchanged at 8,224.

On the macro front, the US product price index for December is due at 1330 GMT.

Danske Bank said: "The December PPI data will provide markets with an early sense of what to expect when the key December CPI is released tomorrow afternoon.

"We will also keep an eye on the NFIB's December small business optimism index after a notable uptick in November following the election results. In the evening, Kansas City Fed's Schmid (voter) and NY Fed's Williams (voter) will be on the wires."

In UK corporate news, Ocado Retail delivered a strong finish to its financial year, with sales growth accelerating in the fourth quarter as weekly orders reached a milestone of 500,000 for the first time.

The company, which is the grocery joint venture between Ocado Group and M&S, reported retail revenues of £715.8m for the 13 weeks to 1 December, up 17.5% year-on-year and a pick-up from the 15.5% growth seen in the third quarter. That was followed by a record performance over the key Christmas trading period, Ocado Retail said.

Smiths Group announced that its chief financial officer Clare Scherrer will retire on 30 April, with Julian Fagge, currently president of Smiths Interconnect, succeeding her as CFO from 1 February.

The FTSE 100 company also upgraded its 2025 organic revenue growth guidance to between 6% and 8%, citing strong performance in Smiths Detection and Smiths Interconnect and improved order book visibility, while maintaining its operating profit margin guidance.