London pre-open: Stocks seen lower after record close; BoE, ECB eyed

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to fall at the open on Thursday following a record close, as investors eyed the latest policy announcements from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank.

The FTSE 100 was called to open around 18 points lower.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, said: "Both central banks are expected to keep rates unchanged, meaning the focus will be on guidance. Recent data point to slowing PMI readings and easing inflation. Euro-area inflation fell to 1.7%, below the ECB's target, while core inflation eased to 2.2% from 2.3% a month earlier.

"Slower growth and tame inflation could open the door to a more dovish ECB stance, provided the bank continues to anchor its outlook to incoming data. If so, EURUSD bulls may be forced to abandon the 1.20 target in favour of a retreat toward 1.15 over the next three months.

"The BoE on the other hand should weigh in the still sticky inflation, a heavy fiscal policy and the bleak economic outlook."

In corporate news, Shell posted a slide in quarterly earnings after lower prices and a rise in operating expenses weighed heavily.

Income attributable to Shell shareholders was $4.1bn in the final three months of 2025, a 22% slide on the third quarter.

Adjusted earnings tumbled 40% to $3.3bn. In the fourth quarter of 2024, adjusted earnings were $3.7bn.

Shell blamed the slide on "unfavourable tax movements...lower marketing margins, lower realised prices and higher operating expenses".

Over the full year, income rose 11% to $17.8bn, while adjusted earnings slid 22% to $18.5bn.

Telecoms operator Vodafone said it expected full-year earnings to be at the upper end of forecasts after a strong third quarter, supported by top line growth in Germany and Turkey.

The company said revenue in the period increased by 6.5% to �10.5bn.

Telecommunications giant BT said that thirdquarter revenues had dropped 4% year-on-year to �5.0bn, as lower service and handset sales and recent disposals weighed on the top line.

BT said adjusted UK service revenue slipped 2% amid continued legacy voice drag and prioryear phasing effects, while adjusted underlying earnings slipped 1% to �2.1bn, broadly flat once last year's oneoff income was excluded, with strong costcutting helping offset softer revenue.

Reported pre-tax profits came to �183m, down �244m year-on-year, principally due to a �214m share of losses from its Sports joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery.