London pre-open: Stocks seen up as investors welcome German election result
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Monday 24 Feb 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to gain at the open on Monday as investors welcomed news that Germany's conservatives have won the national election.
The FTSE 100 was called to open around 10 points higher.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said: "The euro and the European equity futures are in the green this Monday morning on relief that the German elections didn't bring major surprises.
"Merz' CDU/CSU won the election with around 28.5% of the votes - a good result for the centre right though slightly weaker than expected, Olaf Scholz' SPD gained around 16% of support - as expected, while the AfD amassed 20% of the votes.
"The kneejerk reaction is a swift rebound of the euro and the equity futures on hope of higher spending by the new German government would tackle the economic weakness of past years."
In UK corporate news, discount retailer B&M cut profit guidance again, citing an uncertain economic outlook and said chief executive Alex Russo would retire at the end of April.
The company said annual adjusted EBITDA was now expected to be in the range of £605m to £625m, down from a previous trimming of guidance to £620 - £650m outlined in January.
The latest cut also includes the potential impact of exchange rate volatility on the valuation of stock and creditor balances.
National Grid announced the sale of its US onshore renewables business, National Grid Renewables, to Brookfield Asset Management and its institutional partners, including Brookfield Renewable Partners.
The energy infrastructure firm said the deal, valued at an enterprise value of $1.735bn with adjustments pending, was part of its strategy to focus on networks and streamline its business.
It said the transaction was subject to consents and regulatory approvals, with an expected completion in the first half of the financial year ending 31 March 2026.
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