London pre-open: Stocks to nudge lower amid worries about US tax bill
London stocks were set nudge lower at the open on Friday following downbeat sessions in the US and Asia, as investors worry about the passage of the US tax bill.
The FTSE 100 was expected to open down three points at 7,445.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said the focus appears to be shifting to the possibility that the highly anticipated tax plan currently being drafted in the US may be on the point of starting to unravel.
On Thursday, Republican Florida senator Marco Rubio said he would not vote for the package without some changes to some tax credits.
“With only a slim majority it would appear that some senators might be starting to waver on some of the changes being proposed,” Hewson said.
The Bank of England’s quarterly bulletin is due at 1200 GMT while BoE chief economist Andy Haldane will make a speech at 1315 GMT.
In corporate news, funds have flowed out of Standard Life Aberdeen in the group's first update since its merger was finalised, though outflows lessened year on year.
Due to the strong momentum in global markets, assets under management and administration remained steady at £646.2bn at the end of September, down 1% over nine months but up 1% from the same point last year.
Sky and BT have agreed a deal to sell their channels on each other’s platforms.
Under the agreement, Sky will receive wholesale supply of the BT Sport channels enabling it to offer its customers access to every single match of the Premier League, the UEFA Champions League and Europa League shown on Sky and BT channels through one simple Sky contract.
This will be the first time Sky is able to provide BT Sport to its customers directly as part of a Sky bundle or on a standalone basis and across all Sky platforms including Sky Go. Meanwhile, Sky’s NowTV streaming service will be available on the BT TV set-top-box.
BGEO Group announced that its utility and energy subsidiary, Georgia Global Utilities, has begun construction of Bodorna hydro power plant near Bodorna reservoir.
The FTSE 250 company said the reservoir was an “integral part” of its water utility infrastructure, located 55 kilometers away from Tbilisi. It said he 2.5MW plant will have an average annual electricity production capacity of 15 million KW hours, and will be primarily used for GGU's internal consumption, with the excess energy supply sold to third parties.