London pre-open: Stocks to edge higher ahead of Trump-Kim summit
London stocks were set to edge higher at the open on Monday after an acrimonious G7 meeting in Quebec and ahead of a historic summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump.
The FTSE 100 was called to open 13 points higher at 7,694.
London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler said: "With trade at the top of the agenda, expectations for a smooth running G7 Summit were low even before the meeting started. A twitter spat between Trump and Macron and Trump and Trudeau set the scene for the souring relations that were to follow.
"Trump leaving the summit early, back tracking from the painstakingly negotiated G7 communique and threatening further trade tariffs on the US’s closest allies ensured a risk off start to trading as the new week began."
Investors will now be looking to Trump's two-day talks with Kim Jong Un in Singapore, after the US President - who is hoping to get the North Korean leader to give up nuclear weapons - tweeted earlier in the day that there was "excitement in the air".
On the data front, investors will eye the release of UK industrial production, manufacturing production and trade balance at 0930 BST on what is set to be a busy week, with the ILO unemployment rate, claimant count and average earnings due on Tuesday, inflation figures on Wednesday and retail sales the day after that.
In corporate news, private equity group Apax Partners is mulling a potential buyout of BCA Marketplace, the car auction house and owner of WeBuyAnyCar.com, which rejected an earlier approach. BCA said on Monday that it had received an approach about a possible all-cash offer from Apax in early May but rejected the proposal.
Elsewhere, Vodafone’s South Africa operation, Vodacom, announced a transaction that intended to support incremental broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE) and ownership in Vodacom on Monday.
The company said that as a result of the transaction, Vodacom would increase its ownership of Vodacom South Africa from 93.75% to 100% and issue new shares to its BEE investors, diluting existing shareholders on a proportionate basis. As a result, it was expected that Vodafone's shareholding in Vodacom would fall from 64.5% to approximately 60.5%.
NMC Health signed an agreement to form a joint-venture healthcare platform with the investment arm of Saudi Arabia's largest pension fund, General Organization for Social Insurance. The JV would be formed through contribution of all of NMC's existing Saudi-based assets and GOSI's investment in Tadawul-listed National Medical Care Company, which would make it one of the largest private healthcare operator in KSA by beds capacity.