London open: Shares unchanged ahead of economic announcements

5th Apr 2011 08:24

Traders are sitting on their hands amid a shortage of big company news and ahead of some important economic announcements.The US Federal Reserve is due tonight to publish the minutes from the most recent meeting of its rate-setting committee while later in the week the Bank of England and the European Central Bank (ECB) will announce their decisions on their key lending rates. The ECB is widely expected to hike its key lending rate by a quarter of a point while the Bank of England is expected to stand pat. Music and film retailer HMV continues to struggle against tough conditions on the high street and competition from supermarkets and digital downloads. It said it expects profits before tax for the full year to come in at £30m. In a trading update last month HMV predicted pre-tax profits would be "moderately below" market expectations of £45m. The company has also been given more headroom by its lenders though, and the share price fall is not as severe as it might have been.Shares in EnQuest are higher. The UK-focused oil and gas group said it was "very disappointed" with the government's decision to increase taxes on North Sea oil firms, though it remains confident of delivering on its 2011 targets. The high oil price and increased production helped push the company's revenues up to $614.4m in 2010, from $319m the previous year. Pre-tax profits soared to $71.5m from $24.6bn.The London Stock Exchange is to sell Servizio Titoli, a provider of shareholder management services to listed companies in Italy, to Computershare for €30m. A further consideration, up to a maximum of €2.4m, may be payable on completed of the deal, which is expected in May. Advertising giant WPP is buying a minority stake in Canadian firm Vice Holdings, a global youth media brand that operates in more than 30 countries. Specialist healthcare company BTG said results for the year to end-March will be in line with previously stated guidance. Revenue is expected to fall somewhere in the range of £108m to £114m, with recurring revenue accounting for around £98m to £102m of that. The recent natural disasters in New Zealand, Japan and Australia could result in Amlin facing claims of as much as £275m, according to estimates released by the underwriter. Amlin estimates that the second earthquake in New Zealand will result in it facing claims of £110m, while claims resulting from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan are likely to come in at between £80m and £150m. Net claims from the floods in Queensland, Australia, are seen amounting to about £15m. FTSE 100 - RisersTUI Travel (TT.) 232.20p +4.08%Rexam (REX) 373.30p +2.44%ARM Holdings (ARM) 583.50p +1.74%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 298.00p +1.22%GKN (GKN) 211.60p +1.20%BT Group (BT.A) 191.40p +0.90%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 344.90p +0.76%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,207.00p +0.75%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 333.90p +0.69%BP (BP.) 472.40p +0.67%FTSE 100 - FallersBarclays (BARC) 283.50p -1.66%National Grid (NG.) 593.00p -1.17%Vodafone Group (VOD) 176.90p -1.09%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 41.43p -0.98%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 222.20p -0.94%Lonmin (LMI) 1,731.00p -0.86%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 59.81p -0.85%Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,398.00p -0.58%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 960.00p -0.52%Prudential (PRU) 724.50p -0.48%FTSE 250 - RisersEnQuest (ENQ) 140.70p +2.25%CSR (CSR) 376.20p +1.68%Home Retail Group (HOME) 208.00p +1.66%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 12.17p +1.50%Lancashire Holdings (LRE) 628.00p +1.45%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 203.70p +1.34%Savills (SVS) 377.00p +1.26%Exillon Energy (EXI) 444.90p +1.11%Unite Group (UTG) 215.20p +1.08%Drax Group (DRX) 419.20p +0.94%FTSE 250 - FallersClose Brothers Group (CBG) 800.00p -3.56%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,626.00p -3.21%Keller Group (KLR) 634.50p -2.16%Domino's Pizza UK & IRL (DOM) 417.10p -1.86%Anglo Pacific Group (APF) 320.00p -1.69%Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 432.80p -1.66%Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 52.20p -1.60%Kier Group (KIE) 1,360.00p -1.59%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 355.40p -1.58%Herald Inv Trust (HRI) 518.00p -1.52%