London pre-open: Stocks to fall ahead of Autumn Budget

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to fall at the open on Wednesday as investors eyed Chancellor John Healey's first Autumn Budget and the latest policy announcement from the Federal Reserve.

The FTSE 100 was called to open around 25 points lower.

The Budget is due at around 1230 GMT and the Office for Budget Responsibility's updated Economic and Fiscal Outlook will also be published.

Danske Bank said Healey is expected to stick to the fiscal rules introduced by his predecessor Rachel Reeves, and with little room to manoeuvre, a cautious budget is expected.

"Income tax, National Insurance, VAT and capital gains tax rates have been ruled out, so any new revenue is likely to come from narrower sources such as banks, gambling and property. Some targeted cost-of-living support is also expected," it said.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve policy announcement is due at 1900 GMT. The Fed is widely expected to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at between 3.75% and 4.00%.

"Most central FOMC members have signalled that they can wait until December before hiking again, although a few see more urgency, and we expect 2-3 dissenting votes in favour of a hike," Danske said. "We still see a need for further tightening and expect two more hikes, in December and March."

In corporate news, consumer goods giant Unilever upgraded its fullyear guidance after delivering another quarter of solid volumeled growth, with underlying sales up 5.2% and turnover rising 6.7% to �13.3bn.

Unilever now expects at least 3% underlying volume growth for FY26 and underlying sales growth of around 5% in the second half, alongside a modest improvement in operating margins versus last year.

Standard Chartered lifted its full-year income and return guidance as it posted better-than-expected third-quarter profit.

In the three months to September end, pre-tax profit rose 27% on the same a year earlier to $2.25bn, beating analysts' expectations of $1.99bn.

For 2026, the bank now expects operating income growth above a previous range of 5% to 7% and return on tangible equity of around 14%, up from previous guidance of more than 12%.

GSK reported a 5% rise in third-quarter sales at constant currencies to £8.9bn, driven by strong specialty medicines growth, although core earnings per share edged up just 1% to 54.6p.

The pharmaceutical giant reaffirmed its full-year guidance, expecting sales and core operating profit growth towards the upper end of their respective ranges, though core earnings growth is forecast towards the lower end.