London pre-open: FTSE expected to open lower on profit taking

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 23 points from yesterday's close of 6,443 on the expectation of some end of the week profit taking. In the US last night stocks started the day strongly on the back of better-than-expected jobless claims and corporate earnings but gains were trimmed by the close due to concerns over European stimulus. Comments from Jens Weidmann, the head of Germany's Bundesbank, in a report dated in December but published Thursday by Handelsblatt, weighed on sentiment in afternoon trade after he raised issues with the European Central Bank's Outright Monetary Transactions programme. Economic announcements due out today include US GDP, US personal consumption expenditures, US personal income, and EU M3 money supply, while closer to home things are looking a little quieter. In UK company news ,building materials group CRH has reached an agreement to acquire Lafarge-owned Mykolaiv Cement for an upfront cash consideration of 96m euro, including assumed debt. The purchase makes CRH the market leader in Ukraine, and the group said it is now able to further leverage the benefits of the new Podilsky factory there. Advertising and media group WPP reiterated its long-term targets on Friday after saying that trading patterns in the first three months of the year were similar to the final quarter of 2012. Revenues grew by 5.9% in the quarter ended March 31st, up just 2.1% on a like-for-like basis as growth from acquisitions was partly offset by a weaker sterling.Actuator manufacturer and flow control company Rotork has reported record order intake in the first quarter of £150m, 14.3% (7.8% OCC) ahead of the prior year. However, it also said revenue growth of 5.0% in the first quarter has been negatively affected by the weighting of orders scheduled for delivery in the second quarter. "Our expectations for the half year remain unchanged," it said.