London pre-open: Stocks seen lower on downbeat Wall Street close

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to fall at the open on Wednesday following a negative close on Wall Street. The FTSE 100 was called to open down around 25 points.

Investors will be mulling Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's cautious tone in a speech on Tuesday.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said "risk-taking investors didn't necessarily welcome" the tone, as Powell avoided committing to a rate cut at next month's meeting.

"He repeated that the risks to the labour market are tilted to the downside, while inflation risks remain to the upside - a mixed picture that requires careful policy adjustment," she said.

"Even so, the US 2-year yield fell yesterday and is lower again this morning in Asia. Market pricing now puts the probability of an October cut at 94%. In that sense, the Fed could hardly be sweeter for doves - considering that US growth is still resilient, corporate earnings strong and inflation sticking around 3%.

"In other words, the Fed has no pressing reason to rush cuts beyond supporting the labour market. Powell's remarks were arguably more reassuring than discouraging."

In corporate news, sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion said it expected limited financial impact from US tariffs and held annual guidance, but warned that it remained cautious about the trading environment amid continuing pressure on household finances.

The company said like-for-like sales in the six months to 2 August fell 2.5% to £5.9bn with profit before tax and adjusting items down 13.5% to £351m.

Online classifieds portals operator Baltic Classifieds said that the Estonian car market has been depressed by new vehicle transaction and ownership taxes, leading it to lower its full-year guidance.

Baltic Classifieds said early signs of recovery had stalled, resulting in a continued reduction in Auto24 revenue compared to internal expectations. From a group perspective, it now expects FY revenue and profit growth to be 3-4% below previous guidance.