London pre-open: Stocks seen up ahead of Fed policy meeting

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set for a firmer open on Tuesday following a positive session in Asia, as investors eyed the start of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting. The FTSE 100 was called to open 51 points higher at 7,145.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "US markets finished October very much on the back foot, although that didn't stop the Dow from posting its best monthly gain since 1976, reversing the losses seen in September, and almost all of those in August.

"It's also not expected to prevent markets here in Europe from picking up from where they started the week yesterday, with a higher open, after a similarly strong start in Asia markets.

"While on the face of it the Dow's performance is impressive, it matters slightly less when compared to the Nasdaq 100 and S&P500 who although they finished the month higher, they didn't come anywhere close to reversing their September losses.

"With investors favouring the big blue-chip beasts of the Dow it would appear that despite the rebound seen in October, markets continue to remain very risk averse when it comes to specific parts of the US market.

"This shouldn't be altogether surprising given that US bond markets saw their third successive monthly decline, as yields continue to push higher, with this week's Fed meeting, which starts today, and concludes tomorrow, a key waypoint when it comes to the next key move in sentiment."

In corporate news, oil giant BP reported a surge in quarterly profits , well ahead of City expectations, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine pushed oil and gas prices to historic highs.

Rentokil Initial saw "continued momentum" across the group in the third quarter, with revenues up double-digits year-on-year.

Rentokil said ongoing and total revenues were both up 18.9% at £900.9m and £901.3m, respectively. The FTSE 100 group also noted it had "continued to successfully manage inflationary pressures" and maintained its full-year outlook for the underlying business.

Grocery technology firm Ocado has struck a partnership with South Korean business conglomerate Lotte Shopping to develop the latter's online offering.

Ocado expects the deal to create "significant long-term value", with the impact of the transaction likely to be "negligible" on earnings in the current financial year as no cash fees will be recognised in revenue until operations commence.