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LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares are slightly higher Thursday midday, as UK publisher Pearson confirmed it is in talks to sell the FT Group, while Wall Street is called for a positive open ahead of another big day for US earnings reports.

Pearson confirmed it is in advanced discussions over the potential sale of the FT Group, consisting of the Financial Times, a 50% shareholding in The Economist Group and the Vedomosti joint venture in Russia.

However, it provided no details of with whom it is in discussions, and said there can be no certainty these talks will lead to a sale. "A further announcement will be made if and when appropriate," the company said. The statement follows a report from Reuters that Pearson was set to announce a sale of the Financial Times "imminently" to a "global digital news company".

Shares in Pearson are up 1.9% at 1,231 pence. Following the announcement, the stock reached a peak of 1,255.00p having traded at 1,210p prior to the Reuters report.

The FTSE 100 is up 0.2% at 6,680.45 points, the FTSE 250 is up 0.1% at 17,664.31, and the AIM All-Share is up 0.3% at 755.34. Similarly, European major indices also are enjoying modest gains, with the CAC 40 in Paris up 0.2% and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt up 0.1%.

US futures point to a higher open, with the DJIA and the S&P 500 both pointed up 0.2% and the Nasdaq 100 up 0.3%. Thursday is set to be one of the busiest days of the earnings season for the S&P 500, as investors await reports from Amazon.com, AT&T, Caterpillar, GM and McDonald's.

Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite index are close to record highs, but CMC Markets analyst Jasper Lawler says, "the badly received results from Apple, coupled with the rout in commodities is hampering the possibility of a break out."

"That said, there is a slight recovery in the gold price today and a second set of conditions for a Greek bailout have been approved by the government in Athens," writes the analyst. "This backdrop alongside better corporate results on Thursday could be enough to spark a bigger turnaround."

The price of gold has recovered some ground since the sell-off earlier this week. The yellow metal is quoted at USD1,102.16 Thursday midday, having touched a low of USD1,073.40 on Monday.

FTSE 100-listed gold miners Fresnillo, up 1.8%, and Randgold Resources, up 1.7%, are benefiting from the rise in gold prices. In the FTSE 250, Acacia Mining, up 2.3%, and Lonmin, up 2.3%, are amongst the biggest mid-cap risers.

Unilever shares are up 2.2% after its results beat expectations. The consumer goods group posted underlying sales growth of 2.9% in its first-half, slightly ahead of the consensus for 2.7% growth, while second-quarter underlying sales growth, also of 2.9%, beat consensus estimates for 2.6% growth. The underlying figures strip out the impact of currency movements and any acquisitions or disposals.

Aberdeen Asset Management is the worst performer in the FTSE 100, trading down 7.9%, having hit its lowest level in over a year. The company said its assets under management dropped in the third quarter of its financial years amid outflows related to volatility in Asian and emerging markets.

Aberdeen said its assets under management fell to GBP307.3 billion at the end of June, down from GBP330.6 billion at the end of March. Aberdeen attributed the fall to market conditions and foreign exchange movements.

In the AIM All-Share, Victoria Oil & Gas is up 5.9%. The gas utility company said both gas production and sales more than doubled in the second quarter of 2015. Average gas production in the second quarter was 12.6 million standard cubic feet per day. That is more than double the 4.5 million cubic feet produced in the first quarter of 2015 and the 2.6 million produced a year earlier. Gas sales also leapt to 1.12 billion standard cubic feet from only 404.5 million cubic feet in the previous quarter and from 281.1 million cubic feet a year earlier.

Angle is down 3.2%. The company posted a widened pretax loss for its recently ended financial year, as it continued to progress its Parsortix cell separation system towards commercialisation. For the year to end-April the company posted a pretax loss of GBP3.9 million, widened from a pretax loss GBP2.2 million a year before, due to an increase in operating costs, as it increased investment in developing its key product Parsortix.

Outside corporate news, the pound took a hit against other major currencies following a disappointing set of UK retail sales figures for June.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that UK retail sales declined 0.2% from the prior month, reversing a 0.3% rise in May. This was the first drop in three months and went against expectations of a 0.4% gain. On a yearly basis, growth in retail sales including automotive fuel eased unexpectedly to 4.0% from 4.7% in May. Economists had expected 4.8% expansion.

The pound is down against the dollar at USD1.5596 from USD1.5652 before the data. Against the euro the pound slipped to a low of EUR1.4167 and is quoted Thursday midday at USD1.4185.

In Greece, the country's parliament overwhelmingly approved a second set of reforms needed to start talks on a third multi-billion euro bailout in the early hours of Thursday. The reforms, which are the final requirement before the country can start the bailout negotiations with its creditors, included lifting of liquidity of banks, deposit security and renewing of the judicial system. In the 300-seat parliament, 230 lawmakers voted in favour of the bill, with support for the ruling party coming from the pro-euro opposition parties.

In addition, the European Central Bank reportedly provided a vital new cash injection to Greece's liquidity-starved banks on Wednesday, the second such cash injection in just under a week.

Still ahead in the economic calendar, in the US, are initial and continuing jobless claims at 1330 BST and the US Conference Board leading indicator at 1500 BST, alongside eurozone consumer confidence.

By Daniel Ruiz; danielruiz@alliancenews.com

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