London stocks were set to nudge a smidgen higher at the open on Friday as investors mulled the latest results from tech giant Apple, with US President Donald Trump expected to announce his pick for Federal Reserve chair later in the day.
The FTSE 100 was called to open around five points higher.
Trump is widely expected to announce Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor, as a replacement for Jerome Powell.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, noted that Warsh was a Fed governor between 2006 and 2011.
"Back then, he was a renowned hawk, however, he has recently aligned himself with President Trump and called for lower interest rates. He was also in favour of shrinking the Fed's balance sheet when he was on the FOMC, which the Fed recently stopped," she said.
"This is an interesting pick from the President and may give the market some hope that Fed independence will be preserved by elevating a former Fed insider. US Treasury yields are higher in early trading, as the market focuses on Warsh's hawkish past.
"It is worth noting that the nominee could face a complicated path to getting confirmed by the Senate, after both Democrats and Republicans have called for Fed independence to be maintained over the will of the President."
Market participants will also be digesting Apple's first-quarter results, which were released after the bell on Thursday.
Brooks said Apple's revenues "easily surpassed" expectations for last quarter, which is traditionally a strong period for the company.
"Revenues were $143.75bn, higher than the $138.39bn expected, this is a record for sales and is a 15.7% increase YoY. Sales were boosted by robust holiday demand for the new iPhone 17. Service sales also reported decent growth of 13.9%. Net income and earnings per share were also significantly higher than expected.
"The outlook is what really matters, and future sales growth is expected to be bolstered by continued strong sales for the iPhone. Supply disruptions have been worked out of the system. Added to this, fears that rising memory prices would depress margins has failed to materialise for Q1."
In UK corporate news, Pinewood Technologies confirmed it is in takeover talks with private equity firm Apax Partners about a possible 500p a share cash offer that it would be minded to recommend to shareholders.
Responding to press speculation late on Thursday, the company said that as an alternative to receiving cash, the possible offer will include an unlisted partial share alternative.
"This possible offer follows a number of earlier approaches from Apax to the board regarding a possible cash offer for Pinewood.AI," it said in a brief statement.
Drugmaker AstraZeneca said it has expanded its weight‑management pipeline after striking a strategic collaboration with CSPC Pharmaceuticals to develop a series of next‑generation obesity and type‑2 diabetes therapies.
Under the deal, AstraZeneca will gain exclusive global rights outside China to CSPC's monthly injectable portfolio, including its long‑acting GLP1R/GIPR agonist moving into Phase I SYH2082, alongside three preclinical assets targeting a range of weight‑related conditions.
Avon Technologies said it was on track to meet or exceed its 2026 financial targets, led by a record start to the year at its protection unit driven by sustained demand for its chemical, biological and nuclear products and sales pipeline.
Its US-based Team Wendy protective helmet unit maintained a strong order book but saw a slower first quarter as the government shutdown delayed product testing and deliveries, which contributed to lower-than-expected Department of Defence and federal revenue in the first quarter.
"Assuming no further extended government shutdowns, we expect these impacts to be temporary, with higher revenue, unwind of higher inventories and improved operational gearing expected over the remainder of the year," Avon said in a trading update ahead of its annual general meeting.