London pre-open: Stocks to edge up ahead of Fed, US tech earnings

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to edge higher at the open on Wednesday as investors eyed the latest policy announcement from the Federal Reserve and earnings from three of the 'Magnificent Seven'. The FTSE 100 was called to open around 10 points higher.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, said: "Meta, Microsoft and Tesla report after the bell. For Microsoft, focus will be on Azure growth, AI-related product revenues and data-centre spending plans. For Meta, attention will centre on costs and monetisation of AI initiatives.

"I personally remain little convinced with Meta's shift from social media to AI media, but hey... For Tesla, the spotlight is happily less on plunging car sales and more on dream... The pace of robotaxi expansion and the timeline for Optimus will matter more than actual numbers- though Elon Musk has already warned that production will be slow. Market reaction may once again hinge more on a single man's persuasion than on reality."

As far as the Fed is concerned, expectations are for interest rates to remain at 3.5% to 3.75%.

Danske Bank said: "As the Fed will not be releasing updated economic projections, attention will centre on Powell's assessment of recent economic data, and the likelihood of further rate cuts this spring.

"We expect Powell to avoid any specific speculation regarding future Fed nominations and recent challenges to the central bank's independence."

In corporate news, British Land said it has agreed to buy Life Science Reit as it looks to ramp up its presence in the fast-growing science and technology sector.

The deal values Life Science Reit, which last autumn said it would pursue a managed wind down, at £150m, a premium of around 21%.

Life Science Reit said it now believed a sale would provide a "superior outcome" for shareholders.

Pets at Home said it expected full-year underlying earnings to be in line with expectations despite a fall in third-quarter revenues.

The ailing retailer said retail consumer revenue fell 1.1% in the three months to 1 January, while its veterinary services business, Vets for Pets, performed strongly with a 5% rise. Group revenue was down 1% to £358m.

Current consensus forecasts are for underlying pre-tax profit of £93m with a range of £90m-97m.