London pre-open: Footsie to shrug off Wall St. swoon

18th Nov 2010 07:31

London looks set to take its cue from Asian markets, which put in a strong display overnight, rather than Wall Street, which put on a flaccid display yesterday.City traders expect the FTSE 100 to open around 44 points up from last night's close.A strong performance in all regions but Europe helped brewing giant SABMiller post a rise in profits in the half year to September 30. Pre-tax profits at the brewer of famous brands such as Miller and Peroni climbed to $1.69bn (£1.06bn) from $1.50m over the same period the previous year as revenues rose to $9.43bn from $8.84bn.Business process outsourcing colossus Capita said revenue growth in the second half of 2010 has been subdued, but the bid pipeline is at a record level. The company said the pressures on public spending are having a bigger than expected impact on a small number of the group's trading activities than envisaged at the halfway point of the year.Anglo-Dutch publishing giant Reed Elsevier is trading much the same as it did in the first half, with subscription revenues constrained, and advertising, promotion and other cyclical markets continuing to stabilise. It reaffirmed predictions made at July's interims of a "modest" reduction in adjusted operating margin year on year due to a weak revenue environment and increased investment in legal markets.Engineering and project management company AMEC has won a double-headed contract from ConocoPhillips for oilfield services in the North Sea.