London pre-open: Stocks to rise after better-than-expected GDP

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to rise at the open on Thursday, building on the previous session's record highs as investors mulled better-than-expected GDP figures.

The FTSE 100 was called to open around 55 points higher.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed the economy grew more than expected in November.

GDP grew 0.3% following a 0.1% contraction in October, and versus expectations for just 0.1% growth. September's figures were revised to show growth of 0.1%, up from an initial estimate of a fall of 0.1%.

Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: "The economy grew slightly in the latest three months, led by growth in the services sector, which performed better in November following a weak October.

"This was partially offset by a fall in manufacturing, where three-monthly growth was still affected by the cyber incident that impacted car production earlier in the Autumn.

"However, data for the latest month show that this industry has now largely recovered.

"Construction contracted again, registering its largest three-monthly fall in nearly three years."

In corporate news, housebuilder Taylor Wimpey said annual profits looked set to narrowly miss expectations.

Updating on trading in the year to 31 December, the FTSE 250 firm said UK home completions, excluding joint ventures, were in the middle of its guidance range at 10,614, up from 9,972 a year earlier.

However, operating profits were slated to come in around �420m, up on last year's �416.2m but below the �424m forecast.

Jennie Daly, chief executive, said it had been a "robust performance...in the context of challenging market conditions".

Pub group Mitchells and Butlers said first quarter like-for-like sales grew to 4.5%, driven by a strong Christmas period.

The All Bar One and Harvester owner said LFL sales from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day rose 10.5%.

Homewares retailer Dunelm said it expects full-year profits to come in at the lower end of market forecasts as a result of a "challenging environment" in the first half, in which sales growth slowed significantly towards the end of 2025.

Sales totalled �498m over the second quarter to 27 December, up just 1.6% year-on-year, following a 6.2% jump in the first quarter, held back by particularly high levels of competitive activity in both digital marketing and discounting around Black Friday and December.

As a result, full-year pre-tax profit is now expected to be at the bottom end of the �214m-227m consensus range.