London pre-open: Stocks to inch higher following gains in the US

14th Mar 2013 07:28

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up three points from yesterday's close of 6,482, tracking gains seen in the US overnight. The main US equities edged higher Wednesday as US retail sales in February beat forecasts. Commerce Department figures revealed retail purchases jumped 1.1%, twice as much as expected. On today's agenda is an announcement on the US current account, the ECB report from the EU and the US producer price index. In UK company news, supermarket chain Morrison has reported its first annual profit decline in six years as the British grocer struggled to grow in a difficult consumer market. Pre-tax profits came in at £879m for the year ended February 3rd, a 7.1% drop from £879m in the prior year, and worse than most analysts' forecasts. Chief Executive, Dalton Philips, blamed sustained pressure on consumer spending for the less than favourable results.Temporary power and temperature control firm Aggreko has won contracts to supply 122 megawatts (MW) of gas-fuelled power to power utilities in Mozambique and Namibia. The company has signed Tri-Party Power Purchase Agreements (TPPA) with Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) and NamPower to provide them with power from its plant located in Gigawatt Park at Ressano Garcia, Mozambique.FTSE 250-listed international real estate adviser Savills beat analysts' expectations on Thursday as it unveiled a significant increase in revenue and pre-tax profit for the year partly underpinned by strong performance in Asia Pacific. In the year ended December 31st, group revenue rose 12% to £806.4m, ahead of analysts' expectations of £774.48m.