London pre-open: Stocks to nudge up as UK inflation rises more than expected

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to nudge just a touch higher in early trade on Wednesday following strong gains in the previous session, as investors mulled the latest UK inflation data.

The FTSE 100 was called to open around five points higher.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that inflation rose more than expected in April.

Consumer price inflation rose to 3.5% from 2.6% in March, hitting its highest level since January 2024. Economists were expecting an increase to 3.3%.

ONS director general Grant Fitzner said: "Significant increases in household bills caused inflation to climb steeply.

"Gas and electricity bills rose this month compared with sharp falls at the same time last year due to changes to the Ofgem energy price cap.

"Water and sewerage bills also rose strongly this year, as did vehicle excise duty, which all pushed the headline rate up to its highest level since the beginning of last year."

In corporate news, electrical retailer Currys said it expected annual profit to slightly beat expectations with "significant" free cash flow underpinning the board's plan to resume dividend payments.

In a trading update for the 53 weeks to 3 May, Currys said it expected full year adjusted pre-tax profit to be around £162m, a rise of 37% and up from estimates of £160m. It finished the period with net cash of more than £180m.

Marks & Spencer said it expects current-year profits to take a £300m hit from a "highly sophisticated" cyber incident that has hampered operations over the past month.

The news came alongside the retailer's full-year results, which revealed a 24% drop in statutory pre-tax profits to £511.8m, mainly due to a £248.5m impairment charge against its investment in Ocado Retail.