London pre-open: Stocks set to fall early on after Chinese trade data

UK stocks were expected to retreat on Monday morning as investors focused on Chinese trade data and the prospect of an earlier-than-expected rate rise by the Fed.City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open 25 points lower than Friday's close of 6,911.80.In economic data, China's trade surplus rocketed to a record $60.62bn in February after a 48.3% year-on-year surge in exports and a 20.5% drop in imports, compared with expectations of +14% and -10%, respectively.However, due to the distortions resulting from the lunar new year holiday, analysts focused on figures for the past two months which show a slightly less volatile picture - exports over January and February combined were up 15% on last year, while imports declined 20%."Export growth has been strong so far this year, even after adjusting for the New Year volatility that led to surge in growth last month," said analysts at Capital Economics."That said, rapid trade-weighted renminbi appreciation and a weak global recovery mean the strength is unlikely to last."Wall Street stocks fell on Friday after a stronger-than-anticipated non-farm payrolls report brought forward forecasts for the first increase in US interest rates."As a result of Friday's late US sell-off we look set for a weaker European open this morning, as investors weigh up whether weaker euro as well as a stronger US dollar could well have killed off any prospect of a move towards the 7,000 level for the FTSE 100 in the short term," said analyst Michael Hewson from CMC Markets.Stocks to watchWPP, the world's largest advertising company, reported that pre-tax profits rose by 12% to £1.5bn while revenues grew by 5% to £11.5bn. WPP said like-for-like net sales in January were up 3.9%, ahead of the 3.3% growth it recorded for the full 2014 year due to robust markets in North America and Britain.Ongoing protests at Antofagasta's Los Pelambres copper project in Chile have taken their toll on production, the company said on Monday, after negotiations about drought conditions with locals stalled. While damage to the office and equipment at the mine entrance has had a "limited" impact as some supplies, employees and contractors could travel by air, and an alternative dam was used for tailings disposal, but copper production has so far been reduced by 5,000 tonnes.