London pre-open: Gains expected ahead of busy week

16th Mar 2015 07:53

UK stocks were expected to rise on Monday morning following a poor showing by the FTSE 100 last week.City sources predict the Footsie will open 28 points higher than Friday's close of 6,740.58.A strengthening US dollar, concerns about Greece and slowdown worries in China dampened stocks last week, leading to a 2.5% drop in the value of the FTSE 100.This week is set to be a busy one for financial markets worldwide with the latest Federal Reserve decision and UK Budget both on Wednesday."There is no doubt that the biggest day of the week will be on Wednesday as we all look towards both the UK budget and more importantly for global markets the FOMC rate decision," said analyst James Hughes from eToro."After a week of heavy falls for the euro, and US dollar strength across the board in the currency markets, this week could be a telling one for the overall direction of the major crosses."Stocks to watchResults from Astrazeneca's much-anticipated Pegasus study of its Brilinta treatment found that the drug could extend patients' lives following a heart attack, raising the product's "blockbuster" sales potential. Studying the effects of the blood-thinning drug on 21,000 patients, Astrazeneca found it reduced the likelihood of a subsequent heart attack when taken in conjunction with a daily dose of aspirin.Business technology group Redcentric said in a pre-close update that revenue and operating profit for the full year was expected to match market expectations.The board of Swiss aggregates giant Holcim has rejected the terms of a €42bn merger with French cement group Lafarge, demanding a better deal. The latest twist may spell bad news for Irish building materials group CRH, listed in London, which was set to snap up €6.5bn of assets from Holcim and Lafarge subject to the completion of the merger.