London pre-open: Stocks seen flat on final trading session of the year

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set for a flat open on the final trading day of the year, after hitting a record high in the previous session.

The FTSE 100 was called to open steady at 9,941.

There are no UK data releases due, but figures released earlier by the National Bureau of Statistics in China showed the manufacturing sector returned to growth at the end of the year.

The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 50.1 in December from 49.2 the month before, beating economists' expectations for a flat reading and above the 50.0 mark that separates contraction from expansion.

The composite PMI - which covers manufacturing and services - increased to 50.7 from 49.7. The non-manufacturing PMI - which covers services and construction - rose to 50.2 in December from 49.5 the month before.

Separately, a survey from RatingDog China showed the PMI rose to 50.1 this month from 49.9 in November. This marked the fourth improvement in the health of the sector over the past five months

On the UK corporate front, there was an unsurprising dearth of news at the start of what will be a shortened trading day.

Harbour Energy said it has been appointed operator of the Zama oil project offshore Mexico after an agreement between the project's partners.

The Zama oil field, discovered in 2017 and successfully appraised in 2018 and 2019, is estimated to contain approximately 750 million barrels of oil equivalent of gross recoverable resources.

Harbour said the next step will be to complete engineering and design work in 2026 ahead of a final investment decision.