LONDON MARKET PRE-OPEN: Higher Call As US-China Talks Offset NY Tumble

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are seen opening higher ahead of key US employment data at 1330 GMT and despite a tumble by Wall Street overnight, amid a report that China and the US confirmed that trade talks will take place next week. In early UK company news, Circassia Pharmaceuticals said it expects revenue growth for 2018, Johnson Service Group expects its full year performance to be in line with market expectations, and McColl's Retail has appointed a new chief financial officer. IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index is to open 58.54 points higher at 6,751.20. The blue chip index closed 0.6%, or 41.57 points at 6,692.66 on Thursday. In UK corporate news, respiratory disease-focused Circassia Pharmaceuticals said it expects revenue for 2018 to be in the range of GBP48 million to GBP52 million, up from GBP46 million in 2017. This is partly due to the recognition of revenue in China, following the opening of a new subsidiary in the country.Textile rental provider Johnson Service Group said it expects its 2018 performance to be in line with market expectations, following the integration of South West Laundry, acquired in August. In addition, the group has signed a contract for the building and lease of a new laundry in the north of England, expected to come on stream in early 2020.UK convenience shop and newsagents chain McColl's Retail Group has appointed Robbie Bell as chief financial officer, with effect on January 17. Bell will be replacing Simon Fuller, who left McColl to join newspaper and magazine publisher Reach. He will be joining from motorway service operator Welcome Break, where he was chief executive officer since May 2018. Sterling was trading higher against the dollar, quoted at USD1.2647 early Friday, compared to USD1.2634 at the London equities close on Thursday.In UK economic news, shop prices rose at their highest rate since 2013 in December, despite retailers slapping deep discounts on products during the critical Christmas trading period.Figures from the BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index show that overall inflation accelerated to 0.3% last month compared to a year ago, and up from 0.1% in November.The increase was driven by slowing deflation in general merchandise and the rising cost of ambient food, which saw prices increase to 2.3% in December, up from 2.1% in November.UK house price inflation slowed by more-than-expected in December to 0.5% year-on-year from 1.9% in November, data from the Nationwide Building Society showed. Economists expected inflation to slow to 1.5%.In China, the Shanghai Composite is 2.0% higher early Friday, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 1.5%. The Japanese Nikkei 225 index is 2.3% lower, catching up to other global markets in its first session of 2019.According to Caixin, China's services sector saw a slight acceleration in December with the PMI at 53.9 from 53.8 in November. The Caixin China Composite PMI for December, meanwhile, rose to 52.2 from 51.9 in November."Chinese stocks rallied after Beijing confirmed that trade talks with the US would be held on January 7 and 8. Adding to the announcement, the Caixin survey of Chinese services for December came in at 53.9, which was a slight improvement on the 53.8 reading in November. The positive update from China bucked the trend of negative news this week, and it prompted bargain hunting," said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK.In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended sharply lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 2.8%, S&P 500 down 2.5% and Nasdaq Composite 3.0% lower, following poor US manufacturing data.ISM said its purchasing managers index fell to 54.1 in December after rising to 59.3 in November, slumping to its lowest level since hitting 53.4 in November of 2016. While a reading above 50 still indicates growth in manufacturing activity, economists had expected the index to show a more modest drop to a reading of 57.9.The much bigger than expected decrease by the headline index partly reflected softening demand, as the new orders index plunged to 51.1 in December from 62.1 in November.Later on Friday, the US will release its nonfarm payrolls data for December at 1330 GMT, with the consensus estimate at 177,000. Also out is US services PMI at 1445 GMT.Elsewhere in the economic calendar on Friday, Germany, the EU, and the UK, have services PMI readings at 0855 GMT, 0900 GMT and 0930 GMT, respectively.