London pre-open: Stocks seen lower; wage growth figures eyed

14th Oct 2015 07:42

(ShareCast News) - London stocks are expected to open lower on Wednesday as worries about global growth weigh on investors' minds and following weak Chinese inflation data. The FTSE 100 index is seen opening down 47 points at 6295.On the data front, UK claimant count and average weekly earnings are due at 0930 BST."Today's average earnings data could present Bank of England policymakers with a problem in the short term if they continue to trend higher as they have been doing for the past few months," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets."Expectations for the three months to August are for an increase in wages to 3.1% from 2.9%, giving a further boost to hard pressed consumers who up until a year ago had undergone a five year fiscal squeeze in the other direction. The main concern would be if wages start to push higher in a wage/price spiral but that doesn't seem likely at this point in time."In the US, PPI and retail sales are at 1330 BST, while business inventories are at 1500 BST.Diageo to sell wine assetsDrinks giant Diageo has agreed to sell two of its wine business, including brands such as Blossom Hill and Yellow Tail, for $552m to US-based Treasury Wine Estates as it continues to sell off non-core assets.The sale of US-based Chateau and Estate Wines and the UK-based Percy Fox businesses will reap net proceeds of roughly £320m when it completes later this year that the FTSE 100 group will use to pay off debt.Outsourcing group Capita said the board of peer Xchanging has recommended its 160p per share offer, which values the company at around £412m. The deal, which is expected to be immediately earnings-accretive for Capita, represents a premium of 44% to Xchanging's closing price of 111p on 2 October, which was the last business day prior to the commencement of the offer period.Intertek Group has announced it is acquiring Professional Service Industries (PSI) for $330m.The FTSE 100 company announced the deal on Wedneday and said it is acquiring a "leading, high-quality US commercial and civil construction material testing and assurance business".It said the deal is in line with Intertek's strategy to expand its presence in attractive markets with long-term growth opportunities.Hargreaves Lansdown reported an increase in new clients, however assets under administration have dipped due to the tough market. The FTSE 100 wealth manager posted a trading update for the quarter to 30 September on Wednesday.It showed active clients rose by 24,000 compared to 10,000 in the previous year, bringing its total client base to 760,000. Revenue also rose by £7.7m to £78.5m. However total assets under administration have fallen by £0.5bn during the quarter.