London pre-open: Stocks to dip as investors mull CBI survey, GDP

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to fall at the open on Monday as investors mulled the latest GDP figures and a downbeat survey from the Confederation of British Industry. The FTSE 100 was called to open around 10 points lower.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics confirmed the UK economy grew 0.1% in July to September, in line with the initial estimate.

For the second quarter, growth was revised down to 0.2% from 0.3%.

ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: "Today's updated figures paint the same picture as our initial estimate, with growth continuing to slow in the third quarter.

"Growth in services were partially offset by falls in production, with a marked drop in car manufacturing.

"Our latest figures show the household saving ratio, whilst falling in recent periods, remains high by historic standards."

Elsewhere, the CBI's latest Growth Indicator showed that private sector firms expect business activity to weaken again over the coming three months.

The growth indicator's weighted balance - the percentage of firms expecting an increase minus those expecting a decline - came in at -30% in December, extending a run of negative predictions that started in late-2024.

The balance for business volumes in the services sector came in at -29%, driven by weak readings in business and professional services (-24%) and consumer services (-46%).

Distribution sales expectations fell to their lowest level since June 2020 at -47%, while manufacturers were predicting a modest fall in activity at -17%, which was slightly less negative than the previous month.

The gloomy outlook came as the downturn in private sector activity over the three months to December was relatively unchanged at -34%, compared with -35% for the three months to November, with all sectors reporting declines.

"Our latest surveys round off a disappointing year for private sector growth. They mark a continuation of the headwinds that have plagued businesses over the past 12 months: tepid demand conditions, with households cautious around spending; and strong cost pressures squeezing margins," said CBI deputy economist Alpesh Paella.

"Uncertainty ahead of November's Budget also put the brakes on key spending decisions and big projects, choking up pipelines of work. The latest Growth Indicator suggests that the alleviation of this uncertainty hasn't materially boosted activity."

In corporate news, gambling operator Rank Group said its Spanish businesses had been hit by a payment fraud costing it €7.1m.

The group said it had reported the incident at the Enracha and Yo business to law enforcement agencies and was supporting investigations, as well as carrying out its own internal probe with the help of an external law firm.

"Given the exceptional nature of this incident, Rank Group expects to treat the financial impact as a separately disclosed item in relation to its 2025/26 performance," the company said.

Property investment firm LondonMetric said it has sold off a further £64.4m of retail assets, taking disposals over the year-to-date to over £280m.

The company said it decided to monetise two mature out-of-town assets - the Cantium retail park in South East London and a new M&S store in Weymouth - where it has completed its business plans.

Separately, LondonMetric also acquired two warehouses let to Booker for £26.2m, in Doncaster and Southend-on-Sea.

Drugmaker GSK said it has struck an agreement with the US to cut the cost of prescription medicines for American patients, including its broad respiratory portfolio used by more than 40m people with conditions such as asthma and COPD.

GSK said the deal met all four actions requested by Donald Trump and will see it reduce prices for certain medicines within Medicaid and introduce new products using what it described as a more balanced pricing approach.

GSK will also make most of its inhaled respiratory portfolio, along with other products, available through a direct purchasing platform offering savings of up to 66%.