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London pre-open: Stocks to edge lower after record closing high
London stocks were set to edge down at the open on Friday following a record closing high in the previous session, with investors likely to keep their eye out for any more headlines regarding US and Chinese trade talks.
The FTSE 100 was called to open four points lower at 7,730, after closing up 0.7% at 7,787.97 on Thursday, which was a record close and just below the intraday high of 7,792.56 seen in January, as energy shares benefited from a jump in oil prices.
London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler said: "After starting the year in pretty bade shape, falling sharply for the first two months, the FTSE has just got on with what it needed to do, slowly clawing back the lost ground.
"With metals trading lower across the board overnight, commodity stocks plus a marginally stronger pound and a marginally stronger could set traders up for profit taking into the weekend."
Stocks in the US finished slightly lower on Thursday, however, after President Trump said trade negotiations with China are unlikely to succeed.
"Trump feels that China and the EU have become soiled when it comes to trading with the US, and they have gotten their way for so long they won't be willing to change. This could be a ploy by the US President to lower expectations at home, and he may not get as good as a deal that he wants. The reaction from traders wasn't enormous and this suggests that dealers aren't too concerned yet," said CMC Markets analyst David Madden.
In corporate news, AstraZeneca's first quarter saw sales and earnings come in lower than expected due to investment in new drug launches and erosion of its Crestor statin drug.
Revenues of $5.18bn in the three months to 31 March were down 4% at reported rates but without a currency tailwind were down 9%, while core earnings per share of $0.48 slumped 37% or 29%.
Hikma Pharmaceuticals had an "encouraging start" to the year, it said on Friday.
The FTSE 250 drugmaker said that in the first four months, its efforts to reduce costs across the group were on track, with the board focussing on enhancing and investing in its pipeline. Its cash position also reportedly remained "very healthy", and its balance sheet was said to be strong, leading to the firm reiterating its guidance for the full year.
Lloyds said it was selling its Irish residential mortgage portfolio to Barclays Bank for £4bn.
The transaction will generate a pre-tax loss on sale of around £110m, recognised in the first half results, the bank said.