Market reports from ShareCast

London pre-open: Modest gains expected

London is expected to start Tuesday on a firm footing with traders predicting the Footsie will open around 10 points higher.

Mining stocks are in focus this morning with BHP Billiton and Kazakhmys both making announcements.

Mining giant BHP Billiton has successfully persuaded several of its iron ore customers in Asia to move to shorter term contracts. The renegotiated contracts cover the majority of BHP Billiton's iron ore sales volume.

Heavy write-downs meant lower full year profits at copper miner Kazazhmys despite a much stronger second half as the price of the metal rebounded. Copper prices hit a new 11-week high this week, but were weak at the start of the year and Kazakhmys's underlying profits for 2009 fell to $1.02bn from $1.14bn.

South Africa-focused bank Investec has agreed to pay £412m for the shares
in British wealth manager Rensburg Sheppards that it does not already own.

Pizza delivery firm Domino's Pizza continues to knock spots off its 2008 sales performance, with the company reporting a 10.5% rise in like-for-like sales for the year to date. The group said it has had a strong start to 2010, despite the adverse weather conditions in the early part of the year.

The net asset value per share of Rugby Estates Investment Trust rose by just under a quarter in 2009, putting its portfolio performance in fourth place in a peer group of 268 funds.

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

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