London pre-open: Markets expected to rebound from one-month lows

4th Jun 2013 07:44

Following some heavy losses the day before on mixed manufacturing data worldwide, markets are expected to rebound slightly on Tuesday morning.London's FTSE 100 lost 58 points yesterday, falling 0.9% to a one-month low of 6,525, after factory activity in both China and the US weakened in May. Manufacturing in the UK and Eurozone improved slightly, though the latter region was still in contraction.However, the weaker-than-expected data from the States prompted a rebound for Wall Street stocks last night, as traders took it to mean that the Federal Reserve may hold off from tapering its stimulus programme.City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 44 points from yesterday's close. Stocks to watchWolseley, the trade distributor of plumbing and heating products, said that continued strength in the US and a pick-up in growth in the UK helped drive sales in the third quarter, a trend that has continued into the fourth quarter. Revenue totalled £3.23bn in the three months to April 30th, growing 2.4% on a like-for-like (LFL), ahead of the 2.2% rate of LFL growth in the first half.  Biopharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca will be hit by a one-off impairment charge of $140m after admitting that it has decided not to pursue a regulatory filing for fostamatinib, an oral drug it was hoping could be an alternative treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.LondonMetric Property is selling 11 distribution assets for £247.56m to a joint venture between Prologis Europe and Norges Bank Investment Management. 10 of the assets were held in a 50% joint venture with Green Park Investments and the former Focus Distribution Centre at Tamworth was wholly owned by LondonMetric.Housebuilding and construction group Galliford Try said it has won a £36m contract to refurbish the Alphabeta office building in Central London.