London pre-open: Positive start expected ahead of US jobs report

7th Nov 2014 07:39

UK stocks were expected to open in positive territory on Friday after hitting a one-month high the previous session on the back of upbeat economic data in the States and hopes for more stimulus in the Eurozone.City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 14 points higher than yesterday's close of 6,551.15. This was the index's highest finish since 6 October.The Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices on Wall Street notched record highs for the second straight session on Thursday after productivity data and jobless claims figures came in better than expected.Meanwhile, European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi said that risks to the Eurozone economy are skewed to the downside and policymakers were unanimous in their commitment to using unconventional measures to help keep price stability. The focus on Friday's session will be on the all-important US jobs report which is expected to show that non-farm payrolls increased by 232,000 in October, after a 248,000 gain in September. The unemployment rate is forecast to have held steady at 5.9%."We expect another strong labour market report for October this afternoon, despite some signs that growth has started to lose some momentum lately," said analysts at Danske Bank.Stocks to watchThe owner of British Airways and Iberia, International Airlines Group (IAG), pledged to launch a dividend payment to shareholders in 2015 after saying it was confident of hitting its targets for the year. IAG also said group traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometres increased 7.5% versus October 2013. Premium traffic rose 6.9%.British utility group National Grid said it is on track to deliver another year of strong overall returns and dividend growth after a solid first half, with profits rising by 16%. The electricity and gas network operator, with activities in both the UK and US markets, said adjusted pre-tax profit totalled £1.14bn in the six months to 30 September, up from £0.98bn the year before.