London pre-open: Modest gains ahead of Chancellor's speech

29th Nov 2011 07:10

London is set to open higher, but gains are modest as investors wait to see what the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has up his sleeve today; Osborne is due to present his Autumn statement to parliament this afternoon. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 10 points from yesterday's close of 5,313. Exhibitions and conferences firm ITE Group saw adjusted profit before tax in the year to September 30th rise to £51.4m from £36.6m the year before. Revenue climbed to £155.5m from £113.5m last year. The market has been expecting pre-tax profits of £50m on turnover of £153.5m.Global advertising firm WPP is splashing the cash again, this time on a minority equity stake in Lumi Technologies. a mobile device-based consumer insight company. Lumi's technology platforms allow the creation of real time event apps that can be used on any mobile device.Spread betting pioneer IG Group saw a high level of client activity in the second quarter of its financial year, as a result of which it currently expects that it will achieve revenues in excess of £193.0m for the first half, compared to £156.7m in the corresponding period for the prior year. Costs have been in line with management's expectations.--jh