Stocks are expected to rise post developments on Wall Street.

"While European markets finished rather subdued and negative yesterday, US markets continued their recent exuberant run, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both closing higher for the sixth day in a row," CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said.

"This was a little surprising given that the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank both delivered very hawkish outcomes within 24 hours of each other, as well as painting very cautious forecasts for growth and inflation over the next year."

In business news, Tesco reported an 8.8% increase in first-quarter sales and maintained its annual outlook, saying that there were "encouraging" early signs that inflation was beginning to ease for suffering consumers.

According to the firm, revenues were £13.8 billion on a like-for-like basis in the 13 weeks ending April 27.

Shoppers are dealing with a cost-of-living issue caused by rising inflation, which has eroded salaries. Consumers have also begun to vent their displeasure with excessive corporate earnings, dubbed "greedflation."

"There are encouraging early signs that inflation is beginning to ease across the market, and we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure Tesco customers receive the best possible value," said Tesco CEO Ken Murphy.

Tesco previously stated that it expects flat retail adjusted operating profit in 2023/24 and retail free cash flow in the £1.4bn to £1.8bn range. Last year, it earned £2.49 billion.

In other news, ITV stated on Friday that it is in discussions to buy All3Media, the independent production company behind The Traitors.

In a blunt statement, the broadcaster claimed it was "actively exploring" a prospective acquisition in response to press rumours.

It gave no more information other than to state that there was no guarantee that a transaction would take place or what the conditions would be.

On the economic calendar, the main event today is the Eurozone CPI data due at 10:00 GMT.

(Sources: investing.com, sharecast.co.uk)