London pre-open: Stocks seen muted ahead of Spring Budget

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set for a muted open on Wednesday as investors eyed Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's Spring Budget. The FTSE 100 was called to open down around two points at 7,635.

Hunt has already confirmed ahead of the Budget that energy bills support will be extended for a further three months, meaning the Energy Price Guarantee will not rise by £500 to £3,000 in April as previously planned.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said: "Jeremy Hunt will likely announce measures to boost investment in the UK, including generous tax incentives to attract businesses back to the UK to make sure that growth in Britain catches up its European peers, now that Sunak's government seemed to have eased a part of the Brexit headache that prevented investors from full-heartedly investing in the UK.

"What's important for investors today is how the UK will boost growth, how it will finance it, and how the bond markets will react to the budget statement. There will probably not be an unexpected reaction, or a meltdown as was the case in September with Liz Truss' budget disaster. The confidence in Sunak's government is strong and the actual government's sense of budget discipline should ensure a smooth budget day."

In corporate news, insurer Prudential reported a better-than-expected rise in annual profit on the back of new insurance sales and said China's relaxation of Covid restrictions had also provided a boost.

The Asia-focused company saw adjusted operating profit rise 8% in 2022 to $3.38bn, beating a forecast of around $3.34bn from a company-compiled forecast.

"The removal of the bulk of Covid-19-related restrictions across the region and the progressive opening up of the Chinese Mainland economy has meant that 2023 has started well with encouraging progress in year-on-year sales," said new boss Anil Wadhwani.

Elsewhere, luxury fashion brand Burberry announced the appointment of Kate Ferry as chief financial officer and executive director.

Ferry, who will join the company by early September at the latest, will have responsibility for finance and business services functions and will become a member of the board and Executive Committee, reporting to chief executive Jonathan Akeroyd.

She is currently CFO of McLaren Group, where she has overseen financial strategy and investor relations and has supported the broader strategic development of the company over the past two years.

Prior to McLaren, Ferry was group CFO of TalkTalk Telecom from 2017 to 2021.