London pre-open: Stocks set to edge up at start of trading

30th Apr 2025 07:22

(Sharecast News) - Stocks are set to move slightly higher ahead of a big day for economic data and company results on both sides of the Atlantic.

All ahead of Friday's non-farm payrolls release for the month of April in the States.

"Markets are riding a razor's edge this week, with tariff distortion bleeding into macro prints and the dollar losing altitude fast. The greenback's early-week wobble wasn't just noise-it's the market sniffing out that the next real catalyst could be a full-blown data-driven unwind," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

"The Bank of Japan may be grabbing headlines into Thursday, but let's not kid ourselves-Friday's U.S. jobs report is the real macro landmine this week."

Against that backdrop, as of 0623 GMT, futures tracking the FTSE 100 were edging up by 1.0 point to 8,471.50.

In parallel, those on the S&P 500 were drifting lower by 17.50 points to 5,566.25.

On home shores, Nationwide reported a 0.6% month-on-month drop in UK house prices during the month of March (consensus: 0.1%).

That was their largest decline in nearly two years, although in annual terms they were 3.4% higher.

Overnight, China's National Bureau of Statistics reported a decline in its manufacturing sector Purchasing Manager's Index from 50.8 during the month of March to 50.4 in April (consensus: 50.7).

Private sector survey compiler Caixin also said that its factory PMI declined, from 51.2 to 50.4.

But economists had been anticipating an even lower print of 49.9 for the Caixin gauge.

In the market spotlight for Wednesday, at 1230 GMT the US Department of Commerce was set to release a preliminary reading on first quarter GDP growth.

It would come alongside reading for the US first quarter Employment Cost Index and the latest reading on the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the monthly core PCE price deflator.

Meta Platforms and Microsoft were scheduled to publish their latest quarterly results after the close of markets in New York.

Acquisitions continue apace at Bunzl

Bunzl has agreed to acquire Hospitalia, a major healthcare distributor in Chile, marking its entry into the Chilean healthcare sector, it announced on Wednesday, with the deal pending competition authority approval. The FTSE 100 company said Hospitalia generated approximately £21m in revenue in 2024. Separately, Bunzl said it has completed the acquisition of Inpakomed in the Netherlands, a provider of sterile packaging solutions with 2024 revenue of around £2m.

Barclays Bank lifted bad loan provisions in response to macroeconomic uncertainty in the US as it also reported a better-than-expected 19% rise in pre-tax profit to £2.7bn. Credit impairment charges increased to £643m from £513m a year ago, primarily driven by a £74m adjustment for "elevated US macroeconomic uncertainty" and the impact of the Tesco Bank acquisition.