London pre-open: Stocks seen muted as investors eye payrolls

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set for a muted open on Friday following a downbeat session on Wall Street, amid concerns about surging inflation and rate hikes. The FTSE 100 was called to open three points lower at 7,500, with all eyes on the release of the latest US non-farm payrolls report.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "Yesterday's selloff was led by the Nasdaq 100, which, having rallied 3% on Wednesday, closed lower by 5.1%, dragging the rest of the US market down with it, with consumer discretionary the worst performers.

"Consequently, today's European open is set to be a slightly weaker one ahead of today's US jobs report for April, as financial markets become increasingly concerned about the outlook for the US economy, as well as the wider global economy."

In corporate news, British Airways owner IAG said it expected to turn profitable from the second quarter as it reported narrower losses in the first three months of the year as passenger demand continued to recover from the Covid pandemic.

The company, which also owns Aer Lingus and Iberia, posted an operating loss of €731m compared with a loss of €1.07bn a year earlier.

Insurance company Beazley said that 2022 had "started well", with both gross premiums written and premium rates on renewal business increasing in the first quarter.

Beazley said gross premiums written had increased by 27% to $1.22bn, while premium rates on renewal business increased by 17% year-on-year - ahead of 2021's 16% Q1 growth.

Year-to-date claims were also said to be "better than expected" but the FTSE 100-listed firm highlighted that its investments lost $92.0m in the first quarter, as US Treasury yields recorded their largest quarterly increase in more than forty years, resulting in "significant losses" in Beazley's fixed income investments.