London pre-open: Stocks seen down after long weekend

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to dip at the open on Tuesday as traders returned to their desks after the long weekend. The FTSE 100 was called to open around 10 points lower.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said: "Yesterday was a slow Monday. The US and the UK markets were closed, the news flow was light and the trading volumes were thin.

"The barrel of US crude trades a touch below its 100-DMA. The tense geopolitical setup is supportive of further gains along with the rising US demand into summer and OPEC's restrictive tone regarding its outlook.

"China is also spending big to prop up its sputtering property market - a thing that brings further support to oil and commodity prices. Sentiment in oil is tilted to the upside, but there is one major risk to rebound above the $80pb level: a potentially waning reflation trade. If the central banks temper their rate cut plans into summer, demand outlook for oil could get hammered and the latter could limit recovery."

In UK corporate news, Bunzl's £339m takeover of UK-based catering equipment provider Nisbets has been cleared by Ireland's competition regulator.

The distribution giant in February announced plans to take 80% stake in Nisbets, subject to clearance in Britain and Ireland.

Elsewhere, investment firm Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) more than doubled profits in the year ended 31 March as it reported a huge increase in performance fee income while assets under management rose by nearly a quarter.

Group profit before tax totalled £258.1m, up 132% on the year before. Management fee income increased 5% to £505.4m, topping half a billion pounds for the first time, with performance fee income soaring 276% to £73.7m. Assets under management rose 23% to $98.4bn.