London pre-open: Stocks seen up ahead of Powell testimony

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to rise at the open on Tuesday as investors eye a speech by US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell. The FTSE 100 was called to open 13 points higher at 7,943.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "Today's main focus will be on the first day of testimony from Fed chairman Jay Powell to US lawmakers with questions likely to focus on the resilience of the US economy.

"There'll be the usual showboating by some US politicians who will want the Fed to go easy when it comes to future rate hikes, along with those who think the Fed has dropped the ball when it comes to inflation.

"The key focus will be on how Powell sees the US labour market, and whether the FOMC think that economic conditions have improved or deteriorated since the last Fed meeting. Markets will also be paying attention to whether Powell continues to peddle the same narrative of disinflation, which was a hallmark of his last press conference. If he acknowledges that inflation could be much stickier than the Fed thought over a month ago, that could prompt a pullback in US equity markets."

On home shores, an industry survey showed that retail sales sparked in February, as consumers splashed out on Valentine's Day presents.

According to the latest BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor, UK like-for-like sales rose 4.9% year-on-year, or by 5.2% on a total basis. Within that, like-for-like food sales rose 8.2% while non-food sales increased 2.7%.

In January, sales rose 3.9% on a like-for-like basis and by 4.2% on a total basis.

The three categories that saw the biggest uptick in sales were health and beauty, food, and jewellery and watches.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said February's sales had been better than expected, although volumes remained down on 2022.

She continued: "While the cost of living crisis has made customers increasingly price sensitive, they are still ready to celebrate special occasions. This helped deliver strong sales of fragrance and jewellery for Valentine's Day.

"The economic backdrop means retailers face volatile trading conditions. Many consumers will be concerned as they prepare for further energy price and tax rises in April."

In corporate news, equipment rental firm Ashtead said full-year results were set to be ahead of its previous expectations following a strong third-quarter performance, as it highlighted "robust" end markets.

Adjusted pre-tax profit for Q3 rose to $535m from $427m in the same period a year earlier, with revenue up 21% to £2.4bn.

UK high street baker Greggs reported a 2% rise in annual profits, as inflation and higher costs hit the bottom line and said like-for-like sales in company-managed shops was up 18.8% in the first nine weeks of 2023, in line with expectations.

The company, famed for its sausage rolls, said pre-tax profits for 2022 rose to £148.3m from £145.6m as total sales increased 23% to £1.5bn.

"Cost inflation will continue to be a challenge in the year ahead, driven particularly by pay awards and energy costs, but we are confident that our outstanding value proposition will remain compelling as customers look to make their money go further. As such, we remain confident in the prospects for the business in 2023," said chief executive Roisin Currie.

Elsewhere, gold and silver miner Fresnillo saw its profits more than halve in 2022 amid volatility in precious metals prices and increased cost pressures.

According to company boss Octavio Alvídrez, that was on top of the ongoing impact of the pandemic and the labour reform enacted in Mexico.

Gold production fell by 15.3% to 635,926 oz. and adjusted revenues by 8.8% to approximately $2.6bn. Silver output on the other hand edged up by 1.2% to 53.74m oz.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation shrank by 37.7% to $751.1m and profits before tax by 59.4% to $248.6m. The board announced a final dividend of 13.3 US cents per share in line with its payout policy.