London pre-open: Stocks seen touch higher after Easter break

29th Mar 2016 07:44

(ShareCast News) - London stocks are set to open a touch higher on Tuesday as traders get back to their desks following the long Easter weekend.The FTSE 100 is seen starting six points higher than Friday's close at 6,113.Later on in the day, investors will eye a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen at the Economic Club of New York Luncheon. A speech from President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, John Williams, will also be in focus. AG Barr profit up but revenue slipsFull year statutory pre-tax profits at soft drinks maker AG Barr rose 7% to £41.3m on net revenues of £258.6m, slightly down from £260.9m a year ago.Chief executive Roger White said: "We have delivered a creditable financial performance in difficult market conditions over the past 12 months through continued tight cost control, rigorous cash management, executional improvement and further investment in our brands, assets and people.""Market conditions in the core UK soft drinks market are not expected to substantially change as we look forward. Top-line growth remains under pressure and changes in consumer preferences offer challenges and opportunities in equal measure.The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare delivered good news to AstraZeneca on Tuesday morning, approving the FTSE 100 drug company's Tagrisso (osimertinib) tablets for the treatment of patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) T790M mutation-positive inoperable or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that is resistant to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy."We continue to move at an unprecedented pace with osimertinib, with the full approval in Japan following closely the recent US and EU approvals. As first-in-class lung cancer treatment directed at the T790M mutation, we are delighted that this targeted medicine is now available to patients in Japan to address the existing unmet medical need," said Sean Bohen, executive vice president, global medicines development.