London pre-open: Stocks to edge higher early on

13th Mar 2015 07:46

UK stocks are expected to edge higher on Friday morning as markets continue to attempt to claw back heavy losses made earlier in the week.City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 10 points higher than Thursday's close of 6,761.07.As it stands, the Footsie is still nearly 3% lower than where it stood last Friday as a strengthening pound and weak Chinese data weighed on commodity prices, while ongoing concerns about Greek continued to hit sentiment.Friday is set to be a quiet day in terms of economic data, with UK construction output and US consumer confidence the only major indicators being released.Stocks to watchGlasxosmithkline has sold half its stake in former South African associate Aspen Pharmacare for £0.57bn. Having sold 28.2m shares, at a price of 372 rand per share, GSK now holds a 6.2% stake in Aspen, South Africa's largest drug company.JD Wetherspoon served up a slightly short measure of first-half profits as the pubs group saw cost pressures outweigh a rise in revenues. For the 26 weeks ended 25 January sales rose 9% to £744.4m, or up 4.5% on a like-for-like basis.Afren, which is taking impairment charges totalling $2bn for its 2014 results, has entered into an agreement with its lenders to address its funding needs and recapitalise its capital structure. The proposal, which includes a debt-for-equity swap with creditors, "will result in substantial dilution for existing shareholders", the group said. If shareholders don't approve the plan, the company will have no choice but to initiate a sale of the business and shareholders would unlikely see any return on their current investment, Afren warned.