London pre-open: Stocks to rise after Wall Street gains

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to rise at the open on Friday following solid gains on Wall Street, as investors mulled the latest quarterly results from Apple and Amazon.

The FTSE 100 was called to open up around 45 points, having hit a fresh intraday high on Thursday.

Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill Group said: "Amazon delivered the cleanest positive signal. Its shares rose more than 9% after-hours after second-quarter revenue beat forecasts, supported by strong growth in cloud computing. That matters because cloud strength is one of the more direct channels through which investors can validate AI infrastructure spending. After a week in which AI capex concerns battered semiconductors and platform stocks, Amazon's result gave the market a reason to believe the demand side of the investment cycle is still intact.

"Apple, by contrast, reminded investors that the tech tape remains uneven. Shares fell more than 6% after services revenue missed expectations and its revenue-growth forecast fell short of analyst expectations, with chip production challenges weighing on the outlook. The company still beat third-quarter revenue estimates, helped by a 22% jump in iPhone sales, but the market is currently unforgiving toward any weakness in guidance, supply constraints or margin visibility."

On home shores, the latest data from Nationwide showed that annual house price growth eased in July.

House prices rose 1.8% on the year, down from 2.2% growth in June. On the month, prices were up 0.1% in June, following no growth the month before.

The average price of a home was �277,542 in July, up from �277,484.

Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner said: "Market activity and house prices have remained soft in recent months, in part reflecting the uncertain economic backdrop. Geopolitical tensions remain high, with the conflict between Iran and the US again exerting upward pressure on energy prices and market interest rates in recent weeks. Financial market expectations for the future path of Bank Rate have been volatile, reflecting shifting views about the inflationary implications of events at home and abroad.

"Despite the ongoing risks from the latest energy price shock, the Monetary Policy Committee can take some comfort from the fact that consumer price inflation declined further in June. Signs that wage growth has continued to ease gives policymakers more breathing space to assess the extent to which tighter policy is necessary to ensure inflation returns to target."

In corporate news, NatWest reported strong half-year earnings driven by a jump in net interest income.

Profit for the half year to 30 June rose 19% to �3.1bn with net interest income up 12% to �6.9bn. The bank said it was expecting a return on tangible equity of more than 19% for the full year and would consider share buybacks from full year 2026, six months earlier than previously planned.

Supermarket chain Sainsbury's said it has agreed to sell Argos to newly-formed retail vehicle Swift Partners, in a deal it said would allow the group to sharpen its focus on its core food business.

Swift Partners - backed by retail veterans Richard Pennycook, Trevor Strain and Matt Truman alongside True Capital - will take ownership of Argos' standalone stores, storeinstore sites, online channels, logistics network and sourcing offices, with completion expected to take place in February 2027.

Sainsbury's expects cash proceeds of at least �120m, including upfront and deferred payments and the sale of an Argos distribution centre, though these will be offset by separation costs over the following three years. Leaseadjusted net debt was forecast to fall by around �250m, reflecting reduced lease liabilities. The transaction will trigger a noncash impairment of about �350m.

Investors will also be sifting through results from BA owner IAG, Pearson, ITV, Melrose and housebuilder Taylor Wimpey, among others.