London pre-open: Stocks to rise; UK economic growth stalls in July

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to rise at the open on Friday amid a dearth of corporate news, as investors digested the latest UK GDP data. The FTSE 100 was called to open around 25 points higher.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed the economy stalled in July following 0.4% growth the month before and a 0.1% contraction in May.

ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: "Growth in the economy as a whole continued to slow over the last three months.

"While services growth held up, production fell back further.

"Within services, health, computer programming and office support services all performed well, while the falls in production were driven by broad based weakness across manufacturing industries."

Investors were also mulling the latest analysis from the British Retail Consortium, which showed that up to 400 large retail stores face closure if the government pushes them into a higher business tax band.

The industry lobby said its most recent analysis indicated the large-format stores were at risk of closure if they were included in the new business rates surtax on premises with a rateable value over £500,000.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: "Britain's largest shops are magnets, pulling people into high streets, shopping centres and retail parks, supporting thousands of surrounding cafes, restaurants and smaller and independent shops. After years of rising costs, far too many stores have disappeared - leaving behind empty shells that once thrived at the heart of our communities. Four hundred more large stores could disappear if the Government forces them into its new higher tax band. This would mean up to 100,000 jobs lost, emptier high streets, and less revenue for the Exchequer.

"The Chancellor can back families, jobs and high streets this Autumn, by excluding large shops from the new higher business rates tax band. This would not cost the Exchequer a penny, yet would help secure the future of 400 retail stores, and the communities they support, right across the country. But failure to act risks shuttering hundreds more stores, costing jobs, communities and the economy far more in the long run."

On the corporate front, there was no FTSE 350 news of note.