Market reports from ShareCast

London pre-open: Dull start for London

Despite the strong showing overnight by Wall Street and Asian markets London appears set for a subdued start, with City sources predicting the FTSE 100 will open down by around 16 points from yesterday's close.

Global recruitment firm Hays saw a return to growth in the second half of its financial year, which softened the blow of a 53% slide in pre-tax profits. Profit before tax and exceptional items in the year to 30 June tumbled to £71.1m from £151m the year before, beating market expectations of £70m or less. The dividend pay-out has been maintained at 5.8p.

Supermarket own brand products maker McBride shrugged off the challenge from promotions of branded products to post a sharp rise in profits in the year to June 30 as shoppers continued seeking the cheapest items. Pre-tax profits before exceptional items rose to £42.4m from £29.6m on revenues that rose to £812.2m from £792.4m.

AstraZeneca has received approval from the European Commission (EC) for its schizophrenia and bipolar drug Seroquel XR as an add-on treatment for major depressive episodes where antidepressants haven't worked.

Asia-focused oil and gas exploration and production company Salamander Energy said drilling is underway on its Dambus-1 exploration well in Indonesia.

Market reports: Most read

London close: Footsie breaks 5,900 as US jobs data excites
Fri 03 February 2012 16:58
London close: Markets waiting on Greece
Mon 06 February 2012 16:25
London midday: Footsie at day's worst levels on worries over Greece, China
Tue 07 February 2012 11:49
London open: Stocks pull back but Xstrata soars
Thu 02 February 2012 08:35
London open: Stocks slip as Greek deadline looms
Mon 06 February 2012 08:35

Deal shares from just
£5.95 per deal
Find out more »

No news or research item is a personal recommendation to deal. Hargreaves Lansdown may not share ShareCast's (powered by Digital Look) views.

Market latest

FTSE 100 | FTSE 250 | All Share

FTSE 100	5,895.47	+0.33%
FTSE 250	11,234.57	+0.65%
FTSE All Share	3,046.11	+0.39%
Dow Jones	12,890.46	+0.05%
NASDAQ	2,927.23	+0.39%
Xetra DAX	6,788.80	+0.59%
Paris CAC 40	3,424.71	+0.43%
Nikkei 225	9,002.24	-0.15%
Hang Seng	21,010.01	-0.04%