London preopen: Shares expected to rise on China stimulus hopes
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Monday 17 Feb 2020
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set for a firmer open on Monday amid hopes that Chinese authorities will step in with some fiscal support for the country's virus-hit economy.
The FTSE 100 was called to open 17 points higher at 7,426.
CMC Markets analyst David Madden said: "Overnight Chinese stocks performed well on the hopes the Chinese government is planning on introducing tax cuts to help cushion the blow of the health emergency. There was also speculation the People's Bank of China would reveal a liquidity injection worth 4 billion yuan.
"The Nikkei 225 is in the red on the back of the dreadful GDP figures. On a quarterly basis, the economy contracted by 6.3% in the final three months of the 2019 - undershooting the -3.7% forecast.
"The trading session in Europe is likely to experience low volatility today seeing as the US stock market will remained closed today as it is the President's Day holiday. Whenever our US counterparts are on holiday, trading in this part of the world tends to be quiet."
In corporate news, Indian billionaire BR Shetty has resigned as a director and co-chair of Middle East healthcare firm NMC Health with immediate effect,on Monday as the fallout from unreported share transactions at the company continued.
Chief investment officer Hani Buttikhi and non-executive director Abdulrahman Basaddiq also quit given their connections to Shetty and other major shareholders who had appointed them to the board.
Mark Tompkins will continue as the sole chairman, the company said in a statement.
William Hill said it had appointed DS Smith's Adrian Marsh as chief financial officer, replacing Ruth Prior who has joined Element Materials Technology.
Tullow Oil said Marina-1 exploration well, drilled offshore Peru, had reached total depth and had not encountered significant hydrocarbons. The well tested the La Cruz and Mal Pelo formations where "minor gas shows" had been indicated.
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