London pre-open: Rally to continue

28th Feb 2011 07:38

Having pared last week's losses with a strong performance on Friday the market is again in optimistic mood this morning, though it looks unlikely that the scale of Friday's gains will be seen at the outset today.City traders predict the blue-chip index will creep up 8 points to 6,009.Publishing giant Pearson saw profits before tax rise 28% to £670m from £523m the year before on sales that grew 10% to £5,663m from £5,140m in 2009. Revenue was up 8% using constant exchange rates, with growth seen in all of Pearson's businesses (Education + 9%, Penguin +2% and the FT Group +12%).Associated British Foods, the foods group that also owns the Primark clothing retailer, said its interim results will be in line with market expectations, with all segments of its business delivering "good revenue growth". Adjusted operating profit will be ahead of last year with all segments except Ingredients making progress.International recruitment firm Hays shrugged off a workaday performance back in Blighty to post a sharp increase in interim profits. "18 countries around the world grew net fees by more than 25%," noted Hays chief executive Alistair Cox. Profit before tax and exceptional items jumped 60% to £48.6m from £30.4m.