London pre-open: Stocks seen lower on weak US cues; GDP in focus

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to fall at the open on Friday following a downbeat session on Wall Street, as investors mulled the latest UK GDP data. The FTSE 100 was called to open down around 38 points.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed the economy grew by 0.1% in the last quarter, slightly below expectations.

The ONS said growth in the three months to September had been led by strength in the retail trade, excluding motor vehicles, and new construction work.

Output in the construction sector jumped 0.8% in the quarter.

The 0.1% uptick was, however, below second-quarter growth of 0.2%. It also missed analyst expectations for a 0.2% uptick.

Investors will also be digesting the latest comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on Thursday.

Danske Bank said: "Fed Chair Powell stressed that the economy is not yielding any signals that the Fed should be in a hurry to slash rates. At the same time, Powell highlighted that the current sound economic backdrop gives the Fed time to approach their decisions carefully, hinting that the Fed likely will cut rates gradually, with inflation coming closer to the 2% target, 'but not there yet'.

"We pencil in a rate cut of 25bp cut in December."

In corporate news, Land Securities said it returned to profit in the six months to 30 September as the property market continued to recover, underpinned by growing demand.

Pre-tax profit came in at £243m, compared with a loss of £193m a year earlier. The company also lifted guidance for EPRA full-year earnings.

Volex announced that it had made two proposals to acquire London-listed TT Electronics, offering a cash-and-share combination that, at the latest valuation, implied 139.6p per TT share, valuing the company at £248.6m and reflecting a premium of 76.7% over TT's recent share price.

The AIM-traded company said the TT Electronics board had rejected both offers and declined further engagement with Volex.

Volex said it believed its offers presented a compelling opportunity for TT shareholders to secure immediate cash value and benefit from potential growth within an expanded business.