London pre-open: Small gains expected ahead of economic data

16th Jul 2013 07:51

Another record close on Wall Street and a decent finish on Asian markets are expected to push UK stocks into positive territory in early trading on Tuesday.City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up around 10 points from yesterday's close of 6,586.Citigroup yesterday joined Wells Fargo and JPMorgan to report earnings that beat analysts' forecasts, pushing both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 to their highest-ever closing levels. Wall Street heavyweights Goldman Sachs and John & Johnson will be in focus today ahead of their results.Investors will also be keeping an eye out for a host of economic data which is set to flood markets later on, including: UK consumer price inflation; Eurozone and Germany consumer confidence; US consumer price inflation; and US industrial production. Stocks to watch Diversified mining group Rio Tinto was able to work through a equipment issues and unseasonal wet weather in Australia to deliver record iron ore production in the first half. Output across most other commodity classes also increased year-on-year, though falls were reported in hard coking coal production. The firm said it was on track to hit its targeted reduction in exploration and evaluation spend by $750m this year, with spending down $483m in the first six months.British-based organiser of exhibitions and conferences, ITE Group, said it has delivered "good organic growth" in the year to date, driven by investments in new businesses and emerging markets. Revenues in the three months to end of June rose to £95m from the prior year's £76m on the back of volume growth from events and exhibitions in Moscow and Turkey, according to trading update on Tuesday.Glencore Xstrata said it had received a number of approaches to buy its interest in Peru's Las Bambas copper mine project as it started the sale process. "Glencore Xstrata has received numerous expressions of interest in the Las Bambas project from a diverse group of international mining companies and potential investors," the company said in a statement. BC