London pre-open: Egyptian afterglow still evident

14th Feb 2011 07:46

The boost given to stock markets by the departure of Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak is still evident, with London set to open the week on a firm footing. City traders expect the FTSE 100 index to open around 20 points higher.Engine maker Rolls-Royce has won a $2.2bn (£1.4bn) contract with Emirates to look after its Trent engines on 70 of the airline's new Airbus A350XWB aircraft.Trading systems developer Fidessa is to pay a special dividend again this year, this time topping last year's 40p payment with a 45p per share pay out, after revenue and adjusted profit before tax both grew 10% in 2010.Oilfield support services group John Wood is also returning money to shareholders, and is to pay out $1.7bn after it agreed to sell its Well Support division to US giant GE for $2.8bn cash.