London pre-open: Stocks to fall ahead of economic data

14th Apr 2015 07:44

London stocks are expected to retreat further from their recent records on Tuesday ahead of some key economic data, including UK inflation and US retail sales.Uncertainty in Greece is also likely to weigh on sentiment on reports that Athens is preparing for a debt default if it can't reach a deal with its creditors.City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around six points lower than Monday's close of 7,064.30. The index had pulled back from the record close of 7,089.77 reached on Friday.The UK consumer price index is due for release at 09:30 and is expected to remain unchanged at zero in March, though some analysts predict Britain could fall into deflation for the first time since 1960."It wouldn't surprise at all to see -0.1% given the way food prices have continued to fall as the discount supermarkets continue to push prices lower, while the recent 5% price cuts by British Gas are likely to feed into energy bills for March," said analyst Michael Hewson from CMC Markets.US retail sales at 13:30 are forecast to have risen by 1% in March after a 0.6% decline in February.Stocks to watchFourth-quarter results from Poundland showed the discount retailer had topped a billion pounds of annual sales for the first time, though trading conditions in the final weeks of the fiscal year were admittedly "tough". Revenue in the 13 weeks to 29 March excluding the Spanish business rose 6.5%, below analyst forecasts.Mark Hodges, the former board member and head of UK operations at Aviva, has been named as the new managing director at British Gas, owner Centrica said on Tuesday. Hodges, who spent over 20 years with Norwich Union and Aviva, and most recently worked as chief executive for insurance broker Towergate Partnership, is said to bring a "strong understanding of the UK consumer market and a track record in improving business performance", Centrica said.British Land has acquired the One Sheldon Square building for £210m to extend its Paddington Central development in London. One Sheldon Square covers nearly 200,000 square feet of office space and is fully let to Visa Europe Services until December 2022.