London pre-open: Stocks seen up as investors mull GDP

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to rise at the open on Thursday as investors mulled the latest UK GDP figures.

The FTSE 100 was called to open around 30 points higher.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed the economy grew by just 0.1% in the final months of 2025, as the services sector stagnated.

The 0.1% uptick was unchanged on the third quarter.

In output terms, growth was driven by a 1.2% increase in production. But that was offset by a 2.1% slide in construction - its largest fall in more than four years - and no growth in the dominant services sector.

ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: "The economy continued to grow slowly in the last three months of the year, with the growth rate unchanged from the previous quarter.

"The often-dominant services sector showed no growth, with the main driver instead coming from manufacturing. Construction, meanwhile, registered its worst performance in more than four years.

"The rate of growth across 2025 as a whole was up slightly on the previous year, with growth seen in all main sectors.

"Initial estimates show GDP per head was up on the previous year despite it contracting slightly in each of the last two quarters."

In corporate news, Schroders said it has agreed to be taken over by US investment manager Nuveen in a �9.9bn deal.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Nuveen - which is part of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America - will pay 612p per share.

The price comprises a cash consideration of 590p a share and permitted dividends of up to 22p per share. The cash consideration is a 29% premium to the closing share price on Wednesday.

Consumer goods giant Unilever said 2026 sales growth was expected to be at the bottom end of its underlying range of 4% to 6% reflecting slower market conditions, adding that it anticipated a "modest" improvement in underlying operating margin for the full year versus 20% last year.

The company reported full-year underlying sales growth of 3.5% and a 1.1% fall in underlying operating profit to �10.1bn in its first results since spinning off its ice-cream business at the end of last year.

Tobacco giant British American Tobacco posted preliminary full-year results, reporting a slight decline in reported revenue but modest growth at constant currency rates.

BAT said revenues had slipped 1% to �25.61bn in the year ended 31 December, but rose 2.1% at constant exchange rates, with its new categories division accelerating to double digits in the second half, delivering fullyear revenue growth of 7% to �3.62bn.

The company's contribution profit jumped 77% to �442m. Reported profits from operations surged 265% to �9.99bn.