London pre-open: Stocks seen up on positive US, Asian cues
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Thursday 06 Mar 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to gain at the open on Thursday following positive sessions in the US and Asia, as investors braced for another raft of corporate news.
The FTSE 100 was called to open around 65 points higher.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said: "US President Donald Trump said that the tariffs that concern the North American car industry will be delayed by a month... a day after he imposed 25% levies on all Mexican and Canadian imports.
"Global markets welcomed Trump's move to turn a threat into reality and then roll it back - arguably a better outcome than imposing and sticking to 25% tariffs. However, the uncertainty and lack of seriousness in these decisions will undoubtedly have a sizeable impact on US growth.
"In the markets, the car stocks rebounded yesterday on delayed tariffs. The Mexican and Canadian investors were relieved, mood in Europe was significantly better, as well. The Stoxx 600 recovered 0.91% while the DAX jumped 3.38%. Even though the tariffs haven't reached the European coast of the Atlantic Ocean, the European investors are extremely sensitive to the trade news, and that leads to big sized moves - rising volatility.
"The market conditions are getting appetising for traders that are looking for interesting short-term opportunities, but it's important to have a clear playbook and determine what factors influence the market moves? Is it the data, is the central bank expectations, is it politics, geopolitics?"
In corporate news, annual profits at recruiter PageGroup slumped in 2024 as economic uncertainty continued to hit client and candidate confidence.
Pre-tax profit for the year to December fell 58% to £49.1m on revenue of £1.73bn, down 13.5%.
Page said the conversion of interviews to accepted offers "remains the most significant area of challenge", adding that the slow end to 2024 had continued into the first two months of the new year.
Endeavour Mining reported a strong 2024, with record fourth-quarter free cash flow of $268m and full-year production of 1,103,000 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,218 per ounce.
Adjusted EBITDA jumped to $1.325bn for the year, up from $1.047bn, while net debt was reduced to $732m, bringing the leverage ratio to 0.55x.
Shareholder returns reached $277m, including a record $240m dividend, as the company expanded reserves by 32% to 18.4 million ounces and advanced its Assafou project.
Results were also out from Melrose, ITV, Entain, Informa and Elementis, among others.
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