London pre-open: FTSE to track US stocks higher

17th Apr 2013 07:41

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 16 points from yesterday's close of 6,305, tracking gains seen in the US overnight. Across the Atlantic, both corporate news and macroeconomic releases were generally positive, with the 'forward-looking' housing starts numbers undershooting expectations. The President of the New York Federal Reserve, as well as his counterpart at the Chicago Fed, yesterday argued in favour of continuing with quantitative easing at its current pace. Economic announcements due out today include the US Beige Book Fed survey and EU new car registrations, while back in the UK the agenda includes MPC minutes, the ILO unemployment rate and the claimant count. In UK company news, Tesco reported its first decline in annual profits in two decades Wednesday, reflecting the costs of a turnaround plan. The British supermarket posted an underlying pre-tax profit of £3.5bn in the year to February 23rd, a 10.7% fall from the £3.92bn the previous year, and in line with the forecast from Vuma Consensus.FTSE 100-listed distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl has made its third acquisition of the year, purchasing Michael Davies and Associates (MDA), a UK-based businesses engaged in the procurement and fulfillment of promotional products and marketing point of sale materials for a variety of customers. The news came as the company reported that its revenue and operating margins have been consistent with expectations, with revenue up 10% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year. Iconic British luxury brand Burberry has reported a decent rise in underlying revenue in the second half as strong growth in Retail continued to offset a weaker performance in Wholesale. Revenues totalled £1,116m in the six months to March 31st, up 9.0% an underlying basis, with Retail now accounting for 75% of total sales, up from 65% in the first half.