London pre-open: Rebound in prospect

19th Apr 2011 07:48

Encouraged by the afternoon recovery yesterday on Wall Street, London is set to open firmer and claw back some of yesterday's heavy losses. The FTSE 100 is expected to open around 30 points higher and crawl back above the 5,900 level. Tesco's new chief executive Philip Clarke delivered profits and sales that were ahead of expectations as he unveiled the supermarket giant's results for the year to 26 February. Pre-tax profits climbed by 11.3% from the same period a year ago to £3.53bn, on sales that climbed by 8.1% to £67.57bn. Business and academic publisher Reed Elsevier saw underlying revenue growth in each of its business groups once the effects of biennial events in its exhibitions group are taken out of the equation. The group is sticking by its earlier forecast of a gradual recovery in 2011.Brewing giant SABMiller said organic year on year growth in lager sales in the 12 months to 31 March 2011 was 2%, with the fourth quarter seeing a 3% growth rate. The group's overall financial performance is in line with the board's expectations.