London pre-open: Small drop likely

31st Jul 2009 07:32

London's top stocks are expected to open slightly lower on what is another relatively busy day on the company news front. Traders expects Footsie to drop 6 points early on.British Airways said it will further cut capacity, parking a total of 22 aircraft during winter 2010, as it swung to a loss in the first quarter. The airline reported an operating loss of £94m in the three month ended 30 June compared with a profit of £35m last time. Total revenue in the period was down 12.2%.Bid-threatened miner Anglo American saw underlying earnings slump by nearly 70% in the first half of 2009 as the impact of the global downturn on demand for commodities took its toll. Pre-tax profits fell to $3.63bn from $6.47bn on revenues of $11.1bn, down 38%, but underlying earnings picture showed a much steeper fall to $1.1bn from $3.48bn.Real estate firm Liberty said results for the six months to June reflect a continuation of the "very difficult" retail environment and reductions in property values. Pre-tax losses narrowed slightly to £452m from £458m last year, while group net rental income fell 2% to £190m.Homeserve said the year has started well with continuing policy growth and high renewals rates across its three core membership businesses. The group's expectations for the full year remain unchanged.