London pre-open: Stocks seen flat ahead of McCafferty, Haldane speeches
London stocks were set for a muted open on Thursday as investors eyed speeches by two Bank of England policymakers.
The FTSE 100 was expected to open down just one point at 7,468.
London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler said: "UK stocks have held their ground despite a rather shambolic party conference speech from Prime Minister Theresa May. We think the spurts of coughing, a collapsing sign and prankster are emblematic of her future. The odds she can hold on until the end of Brexit talks and provide enough stability for markets have been cut by that performance."
There are no UK data releases of note due but the Bank of England's chief economist, Andy Haldane, will make a speech at 1830 BST and Ian McCafferty will give a speech at the Founders' Company Annual Lecture at 1700 BST.
In corporate news, Aviva said it had agreed to buy a majority shareholding in low cost investment service Wealthify Group for an undisclosed sum.
Cardiff-based Wealthify aims to attract people new to investment by providing a simple low fee digital investment service for a minimum investment of £1.
Balfour Beatty said it was selling its US unit Heery to CBRE Group for $57m (£42m) to allow it to expand operations in the region.
Medical products group BTG grew sales at double-digits at constant exchange rates in the first half of the year and confirmed it was on track for the full year, while also announcing it has acquired a cardiovascular catheters business.
The FTSE 250 group will pay up to $80m in cash to acquire Roxwood Medical to add a portfolio of products used in the treatment of patients with severe coronary and peripheral artery disease.
Vodafone announced a “significant evolution” of its brand positioning strategy, strapline and visual identity - the first changes to one of the world's best-known brands since the introduction of the 'Power to you' strapline in 2009.
The FTSE 100 company said the new strategy focussed on the theme of optimism about the future, using the new strapline, "The future is exciting. Ready?", with the first part of the strapline to be presented in local languages and “Ready” presented in English.