London pre-open: Vibrant start expected

20th Apr 2011 07:02

Some upbeat trading updates in the US after the bell last night has helped boost sentiment this side of the pond, and a strong start to trading is in prospect.City traders expect the FTSE 100 to open up around 50 points higher.Home products retailer Home Retail Group has announced the departure of Argos's managing director on the same day it reported a sharp fall in profits due to lower sales at the catalogue-based chain and predicted further sales declines. Home Retail's pre-tax profits for the year to 26 February came in at £254m, down 13% from the previous year and in line with expectations. Mining leviathan BHP Billiton enjoyed record iron ore production and sales in the first nine months of its financial year. Year to date production records were also achieved for crude oil and condensate, the North West Shelf (Australia) and manganese ore.The UK & Ireland are letting the side down at distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl, which has otherwise seen good revenue growth this year. The group said trading so far in 2011 has been consistent with expectations outlined at the time of the group's full year results announcement in February, with underlying revenue growth of 2.5%, despite persistent difficult economic conditions in the UK & Ireland.---jh