London stocks were set to fall at the open on Friday following solid gains in the previous session, as investors mulled the latest retail sales and borrowing figures.
The FTSE 100 was called to open down around 38 points.
Data released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed retail sales softened in November, undershooting expectations for a small rise.
Retail sales volumes were estimated to have fallen by 0.1% on a seasonally-adjusted basis, following an upwardly revised fall of 0.9% in October.
In the three months to November, sales rose 0.6%, boosted by strong performances from both clothing shops and from computer and telecommunication retailers.
However, the three-month rise was below expectations, for a 0.9% uplift.
ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said: "Retail continued to grow in the three months to November, helped by a strong performance from clothing and tech shops.
"This year November's Black Friday discounts did not boost sales as much as in some recent years, meaning that once we adjust for usual seasonality, our headline figures fell a little on the month.
"Meanwhile, our separate household survey showed that although some people said they were planning to do more shopping more this Black Friday than last, almost twice as many said they were planning to do less."
Separate figures from the ONS showed that government borrowing hit a four-year low in November.
Borrowing - which is the difference between total public sector spending and income - came in at £11.7bn, down £1.9bn on November 2024 and the lowest borrowing figure for that month since 2021.
ONS senior statistician Tom Davies said: "Despite an increase in spending, this month's borrowing was the lowest November for four years. The main reason for the drop from last year was increased receipts from taxes and National Insurance contributions.
"However, across the financial year to date as a whole, borrowing is higher than last year."
In corporate news, infrastructure group Balfour Beatty said it has sold Foundry Courtyard, a 536-bed student accommodation building in Glasgow to an undisclosed buyer.
After allowing for debt repayment and normal adjusting items, net disposal proceeds to Balfour Beatty are £26m, with the sale generating a profit on disposal of £24m, the company said.
Electricity infrastructure firm SSE said that its majority-owned subsidiary, SSEN Transmission, has secured a £1bn bank facility backed by an £800m financial guarantee from the UK Government's National Wealth Fund.
SSE, which owns 75% of SSEN Transmission, said the 12-year bank facility would support four major grid upgrade projects underway in the north of Scotland and has been syndicated to a group of SSEN's relationship banks, led by Bank of America, and including BBVA, HSBC, JP Morgan, Lloyds, MUFG, NatWest and Santander.