London pre-open: FTSE to track US stocks lower

13th Mar 2013 07:34

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 25 points from yesterday's close of 6,511, tracking losses seen on two of the three key benchmarks in the US.The Nasdaq and S&P 500 both ended Tuesday lower after a series of economic data, combined with congressman Paul Ryan's plan to balance the US budget in ten years, provided a mixed backdrop for listed companies to perform against in the markets. On the cards today are US business inventories, US import and export prices, US retail sales and the EU industrial production reading. In UK company news, British security giant G4S has announced the resignation of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Trevor Dighton, who will step down from the position on April 30th and from the board following the company's annual general meeting on June 6th. He will continue to work for the group on a number of projects to ensure a smooth handover to his successor Ashley Almanza, the former CFO of BG Group.Africa-focused oil and gas group Afren has reported positive test results from the Simrit-2 well on the Ain Sifni Block (20%) in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The on-going testing programme on the well, which is operated by Hunt Oil Middle East, has delivered incremental flow rates of 5,368 barrels of oil per day (bopd), with a cumulative rate of 18,952 bopd from six of the 12 zones tested. Ferrexpo, the FTSE 250-listed iron ore pellet producer, has unveiled a special dividend of 6.6 cents per share, amounting to approximately $39m, after disclosing enhanced margins and production in its final year results. The group also recommended a final ordinary dividend of 3.3c per share and reported that a significant milestone had been achieved in the opening of the Yeristovo mine.NR