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FTSE 100 preview: Shares to gain ahead of GDP

By Reuters
Updated: 02:50 EDT, 23 October 2009

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The FTSE 100 is seen opening up after strong gains overnight on Wall Street, with all eyes focused on the first estimate of UK third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP).

City trader traders stock exchange market

Watching brief: All eyes will be on GDP data.

The index closed 50.49 points, or 1 percent lower at 5,207.36 points on Thursday as weaker commodity prices weighed on energy and mining stocks.

Overnight on Wall Street shares rose strongly on the back of upbeat corporate results, giving some lead for equities in Asia to nudge higher.

UK third-quarter GDP is expected to show growth of 0.2% quarter-on-quarter after a contraction of 0.6% in the second-quarter. Year-on-year GDP is forecast to have contracted by 4.6% after a 5.5% annualised fall in the second-quarter.

Also set for release is the BBA Mortgage Lending data for September, while data from across the Atlantic include the US existing home sales.

Lettings activity for UK business property in the third quarter moved higher for the first time in over two years, led by a strong recovery in the London office market, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said on Thursday.

BP has held talks with Ghana National Petroleum over a possible joint bid for a stake in the Jubilee deepwater field in Ghana, which reportedly contains up to 1.8bn barrels of oil, the Times newspaper reported.

Don Argus, the outgoing chairman of BHP Billiton, has urged China to 'get over' any hostility regarding a proposed $116bn iron ore joint venture between BHP and its rival Rio Tinto, the Times newspaper reported.

Lloyds Banking Group's property bosses Nick Robinson and John Moran are to leave as the bank prepares to unwind its £60bn UK commercial property loan book and is believed to have established a list of preferred partners - including British Land, Land Securities and Valad - to advise on working out its property portfolio, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Canada's western provinces want to preserve intercity bus service, but there is no deal yet to aid carrier Greyhound Canada, a unit of Britain's FirstGroup, Manitoba's transport minister said on Thursday.

There will be results today from BSkyB, Brit Insurance, Filtrona, Provident Financial and Xchanging.

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