London pre-open: FTSE to drop after Japanese data, ahead of German inflation, US jobless claims

11th Dec 2014 07:19

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 20 points lower than yesterday's close of 6,500 after Japanese data revealed overnight that its machine orders had dropped after four months of gains.There is also likely to be a good deal of concern ahead of the release of German inflation data, with all eyes waiting for the latest indication on the state of the Eurozone economy. The figures are expected to confirm that Germany saw an increase in inflation rate in November.Investors will later on be gearing up for data out in the US, with the attention focused firmly on both retail sales and jobless claims.The data comes after a very weak finish in the States on Wednesday evening, with Alpari market analyst Craig Erlam saying "there is certainly a more risk averse feel to this week", which he attributed to the lack of economic data and "all the negative speculation earlier in the week relating to the Fed, the Greek Presidential election risk and the sell-off in Chinese stocks on Tuesday".He continued: "This trend continued overnight as Japanese machine orders for October broke a four month winning streak to get the final quarter off to a dreadful start."Back in the UK, Whitbread, the owner of Costa coffee, Premier Inn and Beefeater, reported a slight slowdown in like-for-like (LFL) sales growth in the third quarter, but said it remains on track to hit full-year forecasts. Group LFL sales increased by 6% year-on-year in the 13 weeks to 27 November, compared with the 7% rise in the first half. Year-to-date growth has now been pared to 6.7%.Instrumentation and controls group Spectris has completed the acquisition of Canada-based Engineering Seismology Group (ESG) for £36m. The takeover will be funded by existing cash and bank facilities, while ESG could receive an additional payment based on the achievement of specified sales growth target within the next three years.