London pre-open: Stocks seen up as investors eye US PCE

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to rise at the open on Friday following a positive Asian session, as investors eyed the release of a key US inflation print. The FTSE 100 was called to open 12 points higher at 7,366.

Investors will be mulling results from Amazon overnight, which showed that third-quarter net income jumped to $9.9bn from $2.9bn in the same period a year earlier, while net sales rose 13% to $143.1bn.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said the numbers were "impressive".

Looking ahead to the rest of the day, eyes will be on US personal consumption expenditure figures - the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation - at 1330 BST.

Hewson said: "Today's September numbers are expected to show a further slowdown to 3.7% for PCE core deflator while personal spending is forecast to remain steady at 0.4%."

In corporate news, NatWest delivered an operating profit before tax of £1.33bn for the third quarter, up from £1.09bn a year earlier, and an improved return on tangible equity of 14.7%.

"Today's Q3 2023 results show that NatWest is a strong bank which is performing well, generating sustainable profits and returns," said chief executive Paul Thwaite.

British Airways and Iberia owner IAG reported a record third-quarter profit of €1.75bn, driven by increased capacity, higher passenger unit revenue and cost management.

The FTSE 100 company said it had also reduced gross debt, receiving an investment-grade rating from S&P. Looking at the full year, it anticipated a strong margin recovery, operating profit and capacity, moving closer to pre-Covid levels.