FTSE preview: Asia gains, house prices up
The FTSE 100 is seen opening up 10-12 points higher, extending Friday's advance in tandem with gains in Asia as investors take China's latest hike in banks' required reserves in their stride.
Looking ahead: Tesco and Home Retail are among the big corporates reporting this week
The UK blue chip index closed 32.21 points higher on Friday at 5,996.01, bolstered by a rally in defensively-perceived stocks such as drugmakers and tobaccos.
Asian stocks rose on Monday as investors bet that China's latest round of policy tightening will not dent prospects of a global economic recovery.
On Sunday, China raised banks' reserve requirements for the fourth time this year, although the move was not a surprise as market players had predicted more tightening after data from the country last week showed an acceleration in inflation.
On the domestic front, asking prices for houses in England and Wales nudged 0.1% higher in April compared with a year ago, although agents saw the biggest monthly rise in unsold properties in nearly four years, a survey said on Monday.
Property website Rightmove said April's small rise compared with a 0.9% annual gain in March and took the average asking price to £235,822 from £231,790 pounds.
No important British economic data will be released on Monday, with the main focus for the week to be the publication of minutes from April's Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Wednesday, followed by March UK retail sales and public sector debt figures on Thursday.
The US corporate earnings season steps up a gear this week, with lender Citigroup and drugs firm Eli Lilly among the firms reporting first quarter numbers on Monday.
Later in this foreshortened trading week, with markets closed on Friday, financial groups Goldman Sachs and American Express, chipmaker Intel and household products firm Johnson & Johnson will be among those under the earnings spotlight.
There will also be a number of key corporate announcements in the UK this week, with retailers Tesco and Home Retail Group among those companies issuing results, while production reports are due from miners BHP Billiton and Anglo American.
Stocks to watch today include:
Barclays: A group of major shareholders in Barclays would prefer the British bank to be domiciled outside the UK, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
The shareholder group, believed to account for more than 10% of the bank's equity, had told the board a domicile in New York or elsewhere would be better from a tax and a regulatory perspective.
Lloyds Banking Group, St James's Place Capital: Lloyds is poised to put its 60% stake in wealth manager St James's Place up for sale, the Sunday Express newspaper reported, without citing sources.
Royal Bank of Scotland: RBS is planning to sell portfolios of real estate debt in Germany and the United States as part of its drive to dispose of non-core assets, The Financial Times said on Monday.
Reckitt Benckiser: Britain's health authorities are suing consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser for £89m over the supply of its heartburn medicine Gaviscon, the company said on Sunday.
Smith & Nephew: Swiss orthopaedics peer Synthes Inc has said it in is talks with US firm Johnson & Johnson regarding a potential business combination trasaction.
Paragon Group: The British mortgage provider is weighing a bid for a £6bn block of home loans being sold by an offshoot of Irish Life & Permanent, the Sunday Times reported.
Kenmare Resources: The Dublin-based miner issues a trading update.
MP Evans: The palm oil to beef cattle group posts full-year results.
Lidco Group: The heart monitoring device firm reports full-year results.
London Capital Group: The financial services group holds its annual general meeting.
CLS Holdings: The property landlord holds its annual general meeting.
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