City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 21 points from yesterday's close of 6,458, after US equities advanced strongly on Monday, with the S&P 500 index reaching its highest level since April 11th. Markets reacted positively to new data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) on US pending home sales which rose 1.5% in March. The figure rebounded from a 1.0% fall in February and beat the consensus by analysts for a 1.0% gain. On today's agenda, announcements are expected on UK consumer confidence, consumer credit, mortgage approvals and trends in lending, while across the Atlantic data will be published on consumer confidence and Chicago PMI. In the EU, the latest reading on the CPI will be published, along with the harmonised index of consumer prices and international reserves. In UK company news, BP has reported a fall in first quarter profits as the oil heavyweight continued to foot the costs of the fallout of the Gulf of Mexico disaster. The company posted an underlying profit, after replacement cost of supplies, of $4.2bn in the first three months of the year, compared to $4.6bn in the same period the previous year.Strong sales growth from Imperial Tobacco's key strategic brands wasn't enough to prevent a fall in group revenue in the first half, as its performance was hit by issues in Europe, Russia and the US. Total revenue in the six months to March 31st fell by 4.2% from £13.96bn to £13.38bn. Perform Group has reported a 'good' performance in the first quarter, with year-on-year revenue growth of 37% to £43.0m compared to £31.4m in the same period in 2012. The company said it has £154m of revenue contracted for the full year, compared to £104m for 2012 at the same time last year. CEO Oliver Slipper said: "We continue to execute against our strategy for growth, acquiring new content and expanding our geographical footprint."