London pre-open: Stocks to rise as UK economy returns to growth

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to rise at the open on Friday following heavy losses in the previous session, as data showed the UK economy returned to growth in the November. The FTSE 100 was called to open 33 points higher at 7,609.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that GDP grew by 0.3% in November following a 0.3% contraction in October. This was ahead of economists' expectations of a 0.2% expansion.

The ONS said most of the growth was down to the services sector, which expanded 0.4% in November.

ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said of the latest data: "The economy contracted a little over the three months to November, with widespread falls across manufacturing industries, which were partially offset by increases in public services, which saw less impact from strike action.

"GDP bounced back in the month of November, however, led by services with retail, car leasing and computer games companies all having a buoyant month.

"The longer-term picture remains one of an economy that has shown little growth over the last year."

Looking ahead to the rest of the day, attention will turn to earnings across the pond, with big banks JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citigroup among those slated to report.

In UK corporate news, luxury fashion group Burberry delivered a significant profit warning on the back of the well-cited slowdown in luxury demand, which has rocked the industry over recent months.

The company now expects adjusted operating profit for the financial year to 30 March 2024 to be between £410m and £460m, well below the £552m to £668m range guided to at its interim results just two months ago.

Retail revenues were down 7% in the third quarter at £706m, with comparable store sales falling by 4%.

Oil industry services company Wood Group said full-year adjusted core earnings would be slightly ahead of expectations on the back of a strong order book.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation for 2023 were now forecast to come in at $420m to $425m, up 9%.

Revenue rose 9% to $6bn with good growth across all business units, Wood said in a trading update. The order book was up 4% to $6.1bn, supporting growth expectations for 2024.