Source: Sharecast
The FTSE 100 was called to open around 47 points lower.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, said: "The week started in a bad mood in Europe, as French protests dominated the headlines and bond-market stress continued to spread to other countries, including Italy and Portugal. Yields on several European government bonds rose, while spreads over German Bunds widened, reflecting that stress. France will remain the focal point, of course, with short-term measures aimed at calming nerves on the streets, but investors may be reluctant to return to French bonds as fiscal and political risks loom.
"Note that even if the current government comes up with a budget, next year’s presidential election could undo whatever is decided today. This situation could keep investors nervous at least until next year’s election, with voting scheduled for 18 April and 2 May."
Investors were also looking ahead to the latest quarterly results from streaming giant Netflix, due after the close of US markets.
On home shores, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the unemployment rate unexpectedly dipped in August, although the number of vacancies also continued to fall.
The unemployment rate in June to August was 4.7%, better than the 4.9% markets were expecting and down 0.1 percentage points on both the year and quarter. However, vacancies also fell, by an estimated 2.9% quarter-on-quarter, as small firms opted to hold back on hiring amid higher labour costs.
Wage growth, meanwhile, remained relatively stable. Annual growth in employees’ average regular earnings excluding bonuses was 3.7%, up from 3.6% and marginally ahead of consensus for no change. Including bonuses, and growth slowed to 3.7% from 3.9%.
In corporate news, DIY group Wickes said it was on track to meet full-year expectations after reporting a 4% rise in third-quarter revenues driven by strong growth in retail trading.
Revenue for the three months to 26 September came in at £439m with retail sales up 6% to £331m.
The company expects adjusted pre-tax earnings of £52.8m-£56.0m according to its own compiled consensus of analysts’ forecasts.
Distribution and services group Bunzl said it had delivered a "good" performance in the third quarter, demonstrating the "resilience" of the business.
Quarterly group revenues grew by 3.1% at constant exchange rates and broadly the same at actual exchange rates, while underlying revenues increased by 3.7%, supported by both inflation, reflective of year-on-year product cost increases, and volume growth, which continued to be driven by a "strong" performance in its North American distribution business.