London pre-open: Stocks seen up ahead of US PCE

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to rise at the open on Friday following gains on Wall Street, as investors eyed the release of the Federal Reserve's favourite gauge of inflation. The FTSE 100 was called to open around 10 points higher.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said the core PCE index for August is expected to remain unchanged at 0.2% on a monthly basis and print a small uptick - from 2.6% to 2.7% - on a yearly basis.

"Additionally, the personal income may have risen faster, but personal spending a bit slower than the previous month. A set of data in line with expectations will certainly keep the soft-landing vibes in play and secure a 43rd record high for the S&P 500 before the weekly closing bell," she said.

"But a stronger-than-expected PCE read, God forbid, could bring the idea that the Fed and the dovish Fed expectations may have gone ahead of themselves and call for some correction. Yesterday's robust GDP read brough the probability of 50bp cut at the November meeting slightly below 50%, but the chances are still very close to a coin toss."

In corporate news, food producer Cranswick said it expected annual results to be at the upper end of expectations after first-half trading came in ahead of the previous year.

The company said it was still cautious about "current market and wider economic and geopolitical conditions", but noted that trading since the end of the first quarter "has been stronger than previously expected, underpinned by continued robust volume growth in our core UK food business (and) a positive ongoing contribution from our expanding pig farming operations".

Market expectations for adjusted pre-tax profit at 27 September 2024 between £179.2m and £191.7m.

Clinical-stage biotherapeutics company PureTech Health announced that the schizophrenia treatment it developed, which was later sold to Bristol Myers Squibb, has been approved by US regulators, triggering a $29m payment and unlocking potential future royalties.