London pre-open: Stocks seen lower after negative US close

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to fall at the open on Tuesday following a downbeat close on Wall Street. The FTSE 100 was called to open around 30 points lower, with no macroeconomic releases of note due.

In corporate news, engineering group Smiths reaffirmed annual guidance after a rise in half-year earnings and order growth.

The company said operating profit for the six months to January 31 rose 2.7% to £192m. Orders grew 16.5%, although revenue in its general industrial division - its biggest sector - fell 5.5%.

Ocado said in an update that in the first quarter of 2024, its Ocado Retail operation saw an 8.1% increase in total item volumes, leading to a 10.6% rise in revenue to £645.3m.

The company said the division - a joint venture with Marks and Spencer - saw its online market share climb to 13.5%, driven by a 6.4% rise in active customers, reaching 1.02 million.

Additionally, despite a 2.1% increase in average basket value, its pricing strategy led to just a 2.2% growth in average selling prices.

Elsewhere, affordable housing group Vistry said it had signed two new partnership agreements that will see it build 1,900 new homes in Arundel and Newmarket.

"These two sites support our strategy of delivering a significant number of mixed-tenure homes with our affordable housing partners," said chief executive Greg Fitzgerald.