London pre-open: Stocks seen lower after flat Wall St session

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to fall at the open on Thursday following a flat finish on Wall Street.

The FTSE 100 was called to open down around 15 points

Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said: "The US session delivered more of a flatline than a pulse. The Nasdaq 100 and MSCI ACWI may have notched fresh record highs, but it felt more like a late-stage sugar rush than a sustainable charge.

"Breadth narrowed, volumes thinned, and under the hood, defensives quietly rotated back into favour. Even Powell's testimony- expected to offer rate-cut breadcrumbs- turned out to be more of a holding pattern, with the Fed chief opting to 'watch the smoke' before reacting to the fire."

In UK corporate news, oil giant Shell confirmed that it has not been actively considering making an offer for rival BP.

In a very brief statement in response to media reports on Wednesday, Shell said no talks have taken place with BP with regards to a possible offer and that it has "no intention" of making an offer.

"We remain focused on delivering more value with less emissions through performance, discipline and simplification," it said.

Associated British Foods said it would wind down its bioethanol business unless the UK government was able to provide short term funding for its losses.

The conglomerate in April said the Vivergo unit was being "undermined" by regulations on imported ethanol and the situation had been made "significantly worse" by the UK's trade deal with the US, which will allow tariff-free US ethanol into the UK.

ABF said that talks with the government had started, but given uncertainty around the outcome it had stopped wheat purchases and would shut its plant before the end of its financial year on September 13.

Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty said it has secured a �833.0m contract with Technip Energies that will see it act as the construction partner for Net Zero Teesside Power - an onshore power, capture and compression project.

Balfour Beatty said that the full value of the contract will go into its order book by the end of Q225, with construction expected to commence this year and be completed in 2028.