London pre-open: Steady start in store

21st Jul 2011 07:42

The top-share index is expected to nudge up a couple of points or so at the outset after yesterday's mixed performance on Wall Street.With a busy day in store for company announcements, however, there are likely to be lots of special situations for investors to mull over.Half-year turnover and profit before tax came in a shade below market expectations at outsourcing behemoth Capita. Turnover for the first half of 2011 rose 3% to £1,400m from £1,361m the year before, below market expectations of £1,443m. Underlying profit before tax rose 7% to £174.0m from £163.1m the year before; the market had pencilled in £176.8m.AstraZeneca, the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceuticals company, has won approval for its drug Brilinta in the United States.Scottish & Southern Energy has become the latest of the "big six" utility groups to warn of higher tariffs, saying it will increase household electricity prices by an average of 11% and household gas prices by 18% from 14 September. --jh