London pre-open: Stocks seen up as Diageo, BP report

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to gain at the open on Tuesday following a positive session on Wall Street, as investors braced for another deluge of earnings, with BP and Diageo in the mix.

The FTSE 100 was called to open 35 points higher.

In corporate news, oil giant BP said second-quarter underlying replacement cost profit fell 14% from the same period a year earlier to $2.8bn, but this was comfortably ahead of expectations of $1.8bn.

The company announced a dividend per share of 8.32cents, up 4%, and a further $750m share buyback for the second quarter.

Chief executive Murray Auchincloss said: "This has been another strong quarter for bp operationally and strategically. We are delivering on our plan to grow the upstream and focus the downstream with reliability across both at more than 96%.

"So far this year we've brought five new oil and gas major projects onstream, sanctioned four more and made ten exploration discoveries, including the significant discovery in Bumerangue block in Brazil."

Drinks giant Diageo posted a mixed set of full-year results as it navigated FX headwinds and restructuring costs while maintaining organic growth.

Organic net sales rose 1.7% in the year ended 30 June, supported by balanced volume and pricing gains, while operating profits slumped 27.8% to $4.33bn on hits from impairment charges and FX effects.

Elsewhere, the takeover battle for Spectris took another twist after the specialist instrument maker accepted an increased offer from KKR valuing it at �4.2bn, trumping rival private equity firm Advent.

KKR is now offering �41.75 per Spectris Share, made up of �41.47 in cash and an interim dividend of 28p each.