London pre-open: Stocks to fall; quiet session expected

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set for a weaker open on Friday following solid gains the previous day, with trade expected to be quiet as US markets will be closed for the Independence Day holiday.

The FTSE 100 was called to open around 20 points lower.

Investors will be mulling news that the House passed President Donald Trump's "big beautiful bill".

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said: "The bill narrowly passed and is expected to be signed later today - Independence Day - adding political theatre to fiscal policy.

"This tax package is projected to push the US national debt past $40 trillion in the coming years, a looming concern for global investors. Should foreign appetite for US debt fade - as the UK's recent experience has shown - it could raise long-term borrowing costs and put pressure on US Treasuries. That, in turn, could dampen risk appetite and increase the likelihood of a market correction, particularly given current lofty valuations."

UK corporate news was thin on the ground.

Drugmaker AstraZeneca said that its Imfinzi asset has been approved in the EU as the first and only perioperative immunotherapy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

AZN said the approval was based on Phase III trial results, which showed a 32% reduction in the risk of recurrence and a 25% reduction in the risk of death versus neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone.