London pre-open: Stocks to edge down ahead of payrolls

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to edge lower at the open on Friday as investors eye the latest US non-farm payrolls report. The FTSE 100 was called to open down eight points at 7,550.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "Expectations for November payrolls is for 200k jobs to be added, down from 261k, which would be the lowest number this year, in the same way this week's ADP report was a weak number.

"The unemployment rate is expected to tick higher to 3.8%, by virtue of a higher participation rate, while wage growth is forecast to remain subdued at 4.6%."

The payrolls report is due at 1330 GMT, along with the unemployment rate and average earnings.

In UK corporate news, low-cost airline Wizz Air said it had seen passenger numbers jump in November.

A total of 3.68m passengers were booked onto Wizz Air flights last month, a 70% hike on November 2021.

Capacity was ahead nearly 47%, at 4.18m, while the load factor - a key industry metric - increased to 88.1% from 76.1%.

On a rolling 12-month basis, Wizz carried 44.12m passengers, a 123% jump, with a load factor of 86.1% compared to 74.3% as at 30 November 2021.

Elsewhere, GSK said the European Medicines Agency had validated its marketing authorisation application for momelotinib, a potential new oral treatment for the blood cancer myelofibrosis after meeting key endpoints in a Phase 3 trial.