London pre-open: London to enjoy Wall Street boost

30th Mar 2011 07:33

A strong finish on Wall Street last night looks set to give London a boost with the blue-chip index expected to open around 36 points higher at 5,968.Oil company Tullow Oil has sold off two-thirds of the interests it holds in numerous assets in Uganda for a cash sum of $2.9bn, with CNOOC and Total snapping up a third each.Growth continued to slow at pizza delivery company Domino's Pizza, blamed on tough comparatives and weakness in the Republic of Ireland. Like-for-like sales in 608 mature stores rose 4.2% in the 13 weeks to 30 March, down from 10.5% a year ago. They'd risen 4.7% in the first seven weeks and 11.9% in 2010.Housebuilder Bellway posted higher profits in the six months to 31 January after selling more homes at higher prices, but warned that consumer confidence remains fragile. Pre-tax profits rose to £24m from £19m, on turnover that was up to £407.9m from £360.8m. The interim dividend climbs to 3.7p from 3.3p.---jh