London pre-open: Stocks to nudge up; inflation eases as expected

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to nudge up at the open on Wednesday as investors mulled the latest UK inflation data, looked ahead to a policy announcement from the Federal Reserve and continued to eye developments in the Middle East.

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

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said: "Mounting tensions between Israel and Iran, alongside Donald Trump's early departure from the G7 meeting, spurred concerns that the US could become involved in the Middle East crisis.

"Investors are taking risk off the table, bracing for further escalation and a potential prolongation of tensions with Iran. China is on edge, as it buys oil from Iran, while Russia is uneasy about seeing one of its last key allies under growing threat. Israel, for its part, wants to eliminate the nuclear threat, and the US appears to be warming to the idea of regime change in Iran."

On home shores, figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that inflation eased as expected in May.

The consumer price index rose 3.4%, down from 3.5% in April and in line with expectations.

ONS acting chief economist Richard Heys said: "A variety of counteracting price movements meant inflation was little changed in May.

"Air fares fell this month, compared with a large rise at the same time last year, as the timing of Easter and school holidays affected pricing. Meanwhile, motor fuel costs also saw a drop.

"These were partially offset by rising food prices, particularly items such as chocolates and meat products. The cost of furniture and household goods, including fridge freezers and vacuum cleaners, also increased."

In corporate news, online grocery fulfilment group Ocado announced plans to build a new distribution facility in Catalonia as part of its partnership with Spanish supermarket chain Bon Preu.

"Today is an exciting moment as we enter a new phase with our longest-standing international partner," said Gregor Ulitzka, president for Europe at Ocado Solutions.

Consumer goods company PZ Cussons said that like-for-like revenues were expected to have grown 8% in FY25, with reported revenues seen at roughly �505.0m.

PZ Cussons said its H2 performance was driven by continued strong revenue growth in Africa, given the inflationary macroeconomic environment in Nigeria.