London pre-open: Stocks to rise on positive US, Asian cues

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to rise at the open on Thursday following positive US and Asian cues, as investors eye the Jackson Hole symposium. The FTSE 100 was called to open 18 points higher at 7,489.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "While the FTSE 100 slid back for the third day in succession, the DAX and CAC40 broke their own three-day sequence of successive losses with a modest gain in a subdued trading session.

"US markets also managed to eke out a modest gain yesterday, however it was notable that the main action on the day took place on the bond market with a steep sell-off in short-dated bonds, and a sharp rise in 2-year yields in the UK, Germany and the US, with both the UK and US yield curves inverting sharply.

"Today's economic docket is set to show the latest adjustments to German and US Q2 GDP, however on a more up to date note, we also have the German IFO business survey for August, which isn't likely to be positive reading, as we look ahead to a slightly higher European open.

"After the weakness seen in this week's German flash PMIs, today's IFO survey is likely to paint a bleak outlook for the German economy in terms of the current business climate, as well as business expectations."

In corporate news, building products maker CRH said it expected full-year core earnings to rise slightly to $5.5bn "against a continually challenging cost environment" after posting an increase in interim profits.

The figure compares with $5bn in 2021. CRH said interim profits rose by a fifth to $2.2bn, driven by its North America and Europe markets.

Building materials distributor and DIY retailer Grafton posted a jump in first-half revenues but a decline in profits as activity levels normalised following the pandemic boost.

In the six months to 30 June, revenue rose 12.2% to £1.15bn, but adjusted pre-tax profit fell 3.6% to £143.4m and adjusted operating profit was down 4.4% at £151.1m.