London pre-open: FTSE to rise despite further weak data out from China

18th Nov 2014 07:42

London's blue chips are expected to open on a positive note, despite further weak data out from China overnight.City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 15 points higher than Monday's close of 6,671.97."European futures are pointing to another positive start on Tuesday despite data overnight providing further evidence of China's slowing economy, as investors continue to turn a blind eye to the weaker data coming from the world's second-largest economy," Alpari analyst Craig Erlam said.The data revealed that the country's house prices dropped in October at a quicker pace than that seen the previous month."The markets appear to have accepted that China's economy is cooling off a little and have fully priced it in," Erlam continued."What's more, with inflation so low at 1.6% and other indicators such as the PPI readings pointing to further disinflation going forward, the data actually increases the possibility of more monetary stimulus from the People's Bank of China. So in fact, as long as the data continues to just disappoint, it could actually be seen as a positive for the markets."Back in the UK, headline inflation is predicted to show a small increase to 1.3%, but given Mark Carney's recent comments about the figure being likely to drop below 1%, this rise appears to be only temporary.Also on the day's agenda are the more recent ZEW economic sentiment surveys for the Eurozone and Germany, both of which are expected to move slightly higher after 10 months of declines.In UK company news, pharmaceutical group Astrazeneca has hailed the progress it has made on its strategy to deliver "sustainable growth and value through innovation". In a presentation to investors and analysts in London on Tuesday, the company is expected to update on its growth prospects and pipeline, saying it remains on track to return to growth by 2017. "I am delighted with the progress we are making on our strategy," said chief executive Pascal Soriot.Budget airline Easyjet posted record annual profits for the fourth year in a row and proposed a rise in its dividend of more than a third, although it cautioned that investment would lead to flat revenue per seat in the first half of 2015. The Luton-based carrier said pre-tax profit rose 21.5% to £581m on a 6.3% lift in revenue to £4.5bn.British Land grew its total portfolio valuation 7.2% in the first half as its increased investmet in London pays back in spades, with improving demand for office space in the capital and restricted supply lifting prices. Its retail business is also seeing encouraging indicators about growth in consumer spending and rental growth.