London pre-open: Stocks seen flat as investors mull retail sales; gold shines

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set for a flat open on Friday as investors mulled the latest UK retail sales data. The FTSE 100 was called to open steady at 10,150.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed retail sales ticked higher in December, beating expectations.

Retail sales volumes rose 0.4% last month, comfortably ahead of consensus for a 0.1% decline.

Over the quarter, sales fell 0.3%, due to weaker trading in October and November on the back of a bumper summer. But sales strengthened 1.3% over the year, following a rise of 0.2% in 2024.

Investors will also be keeping an eye on the gold price, as it heads towards $5,000 an ounce.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, said: "Gold spiked past $4,950 per ounce this morning. It looks like we'll be hitting the $5000 before we thought! That move is a clear sign that the risk appetite is not fully restored!"

In equity markets, defence firm Babcock said chief executive David Lockwood would retire at the end of 2026 after almost five years in the job and be replaced by Harry Holt, currently head of the company's nuclear division.

Former army officer Holt has been on the senior management team since November 2023. Prior to that he spent seven years at Rolls Royce in a number of roles, including president of its nuclear division.

Drinks maker C&C Group said that overall trading has been below internal expectations in FY26, with customer performance across November and early December impacted by weak consumer confidence associated with the UK Budget.

While C&C said it had continued to make "strong progress" in its key objectives, it said these actions were not sufficient to offset the combination of subdued market volumes, unfavourable category mix and competitive pricing dynamics across the market.

Looking ahead, the FTSE 250 firm expected FY27 adjusted operating profits to be much the same as FY26, which were now projected to be between €70m-€73m, as it expects to see current macroeconomic and consumer headwinds continue into next year.