London pre-open: Stocks to open lower as investors await fresh catalysts

22nd Jul 2015 08:25

(ShareCast News) - UK stocks are expected to open lower on Wednesday, tracking declines in the US and Asia, as investors await fresh impetus following recent gains.City sources expect the FTSE 100 to open 24 points lower than Tuesday's close at 6,745.07."There's little in the way of new catalysts to keep markets chugging higher, certainly not US earnings, so traders are starting to take some profits off the table," said Jonathan Sudaria, night dealer at London Capital Group. "Disappointing results for IBM and United Technologies led to a plunge in US equities yesterday with the Dow Jones losing 184 points to 17,881. Some profit-taking might have exacerbated the move as we saw stronger-than-expected earnings until this point," he added.On the data front, investors will eye the release of Bank of England minutes at 0930 BST, while US existing home sales at 1500 BST are also likely to be in focus.Stocks to watchAfter Apple disappointed with earnings overnight, ARM Holdings may open lower despite strong second-quarter results where its own earnings rose by 34% to 7.28p per share. The microchip designer lifted profits before tax 32% to £123.9m on revenue that rose 22% to £228.5m or 15% in dollar terms to $357.1m.Land Securities has had a solid start to the year and is maintaining good momentum, with healthy take-up in London, low vacancy rates and rental values rising.In its interim statement for the first quarter, the company said that in Retail, the transformation of its portfolio is continuing to pay off. By focusing on assets which offer customers an excellent experience, while either being dominant in their catchment or highly convenient, it has seen footfall up 2.5%, same store sales up 3.8% and same centre sales up 5.4% on the same quarter last year.