London pre-open: Stocks on the front foot

7th Jul 2011 07:45

Taking its lead from Wall Street, which edged higher yesterday despite some indifferent economic data, UK stocks are set to open firmer, with City traders predicting the Footsie will open at around 6,026, up 23 points from last night's close.Funds under management (FUM) at hedge fund manager Man Group rose to $71bn at the end of June from $69.1bn at the end of March as the group racked up record sales in the quarter of $9.0bn, to post a net inflow of $3.7bn after redemptions of $5.3bn.WH Smith reported a fall in sales in the 18 weeks to 27 July, but the newsagent and bookshop chain said it is continuing to grow margins. Total sales were down by 1% from the same period the previous year, or by 4% on a like-for-like basis, excluding the impact of new openings.Support services group Carillion hailed a strong first half performance, with the group operating margin continuing to increase. The order book at the half year is expected to remain strong, plus the group has a record pipeline of contract opportunities.Out-of-town home furnishings retailer Dunelm moved into like-for-like sales growth in the quarter year to 2 July, saying it is winning share in a struggling market.Total sales grew by 11% from the same period the previous year to £123.8m, or by 1.9% on a like-for-like basis, which only considers the shops that were operating during both periods. With like-for-like sales having fallen by 1.3% in the quarter to 2 April, they were up by just 0.1% in the half year to 2 July.