London pre-open: Stocks seen up after positive US session

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to rise at the open on Thursday following solid gains in the US, as investors eyed the latest initial jobless claims ahead of Friday's all-important non-farm payrolls report. The FTSE 100 was called to open 32 points higher at 7,444.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "European markets stabilised somewhat yesterday, although the FTSE100 slid for the third day in succession due to a sharp slide in commodity prices, which weighed on the big caps of basic resources and energy.

"There was a respite in the big surge we've seen in bond yields, which retreated from intraday and multiyear highs after the September ADP jobs report saw its weakest monthly job gain since January 2021, of 89k.

"This stabilisation in yields helped temper the downside for US markets, with the S&P500 rebounding from its 200-day SMA, which has acted as a key support area in the past couple of trading days.

"The retreat in yields also helped US markets rebound and close higher on the day, breaking a 3-day losing streak, with the biggest decline coming with a 10-point fall in the 2-year yield.

"This rebound in US markets has translated into a rebound in Asia markets and looks set to translate into a positive start for European markets this morning."

In corporate news, tobacco giant Imperial Brands said it will buy back a further £1.1bn in shares as it announced it was on track to hit forecasts this year.

In a pre-close trading update for the fiscal year ended 30 September, the Lambert & Butlers and Golden Virginia maker said strong tobacco pricing has driven constant currency net revenue and adjusted operating profit growth.

Metro Bank was also likely to be in focus following reports it's looking to raise hundreds of millions of pounds from investors.

According to the Financial Times, which cited people with knowledge of the plan, the bank is looking to raise as much as £600m after its share price fell nearly 50% in recent weeks.

It was understood the challenger bank is in talks with investors about raising £250m in equity funding and £350mn in debt to shore up its balance sheet.