London open: Stocks edge higher

31st Mar 2011 08:29

Stocks have moved in both directions this morning after a raft of updates but the overall trend is upward.Tour operator TUI Travel is higher after saying underlying trading has been "satisfactory" during the last six months. Like Thomas Cook on Tuesday, it has not changed its estimate of the cost of trouble in North Africa. Uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia are expected to have cost the company between £25m and £30m in the second quarter, as flagged last month.London Stock Exchange(LSE) moves ahead after saying it grew average daily value traded in UK equities by 2% over the past year and is finishing the period on a strong note.But there is more bad news for the retail sector. Following electrical specialist Dixons Retail's profit warning yesterday, Mothercare falls back after the babycare retailer saw margins squeezed in the quarter to 26 March after slashing prices to clear its autumn and winter stock amid a weak consumer environment. Total sales were up by 10.2% from the same period the previous year, with international operations leading the way. Sales in Britain were up by 4.7%, though they were down by 2.4% on a like-for-like basis, which excludes the wholesale business.Contract caterer Compass's good start to the new financial year has continued through the six-month period, leaving it comfortable with forecasts for the full-year. In a statement ahead of interims on 18 May, the firm said constant currency revenue growth, including the impact of acquisitions, was about 9.5%, with organic growth at 5.5%. There's also been a "slight" increase in like for like revenue against the weaker comparatives of the first half of 2010. Margin has improved by about 20 basis points.Energy supplier Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) is on track to report underlying profit before tax for the full year in line with the consensus of analysts' forecasts, which currently stands at £1,301m. The company, which is about to enter its close period on Friday prior to publication of full year results on 20 May, said it expects to deliver a full-year dividend increase of at least 2% more than Retail Price Index inflation, and of at least 74.5 pence per share.RG