London pre-open: Firm start to big week

1st Nov 2010 07:36

This week sees a slew of keenly anticipated economic data, both on this and the other side of the Atlantic, but traders seem keen to take a view, with the Footsie expected to break back above the 5700 barrier.The first week of November is a very busy one for UK corporate activity but, even so, activity may be eclipsed by events in the USA where the Democratic party is expected to get a battering in mid-term elections on Tuesday, while the Federal Open Market Committee of the US Federal Reserve will announce its decision on interest rates and quantitative easing (QE) on Wednesday. Throw in the always significant US non-farm payrolls data on the Thursday and you have a packed agenda, stateside.Back on this side of the pond the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will be making its own pronouncement on interest rates and QE on Thursday. Traders expect the FTSE 100 index will open around 40 points firmer at 5,715.Pumps manufacturer Weir expects to beat full-year profit forecasts thanks to high demand for its equipment from the mining and oil exploration sector and stronger than expected aftermarket activity. The company said it continued to perform well in the third quarter, reporting improving order trends across the Minerals and Oil & Gas divisions.BG Group, the oil and gas giant due to declare third quarter results this week, is to get cracking on its Queensland Curtis Liquefied Natural Gas (QCLNG) project after receiving government clearanceUnderlying operating profit for paper and packaging group Mondi was on the up in the third quarter, both on the preceding two quarters and in comparison with the same quarter of 2009. despite only a marginal increase in turnover. Net debt was reduced to€1,536m at the end of September from €1,632m three months earlier.Xchanging, the business process outsourcing specialist, is still seeing pressure on activity levels due to economic conditions and some customers remain cautious in this uncertain market. For the full year, revenues and profits are in line with current market expectations. Falkland Islands oil explorer Desire Petroleum has failed to reach target depths in the first wireline logging run at its 14/15-1Z sidetrack well on the Rachel prospect. "Due to wellbore stability issues through the deviated section of the wellbore (forty degree hole inclination) it was not possible to reach the target depths in the first wireline logging run," it said in a short statement Monday.