London open: Early gains for blue chips

Footsie has pushed on strongly after another day of big gains in the US yesterday. The Budget will dominate the headlines from lunchtime and banks are making progress in expectation that something will be said the government's stakes in the state-controlled banks, RBS and Lloyds.Foreign exchange and bond traders will be focused on the national debt update, while the politicians will be concentrate on the size of any pre-election giveaway.Away from the Budget, growth in sales of non-food items such as clothes and household items helped supermarket operator J Sainsbury post a healthy rise in like-for-like sales in the 11 weeks to March 20. Like-for-like sales - a measure that excludes the impact of new openings - rose by 4.8% compared with the same period a year ago, or by 1.7% excluding fuel.BG Group has confirmed a $40bn long-term deal to supply China with liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its coal seam deposits in Australia. The contract with the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, (CNOOC) involves the shipment of 3.6m tonnes per annum of LNG over a 20-year period.Weak demand and lower prices hammered profits at Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) last year, but the Kazakhstan-based miner said things improved in the second half and it remains upbeat about 2010. Profit before tax tumbled 62% to $1.44bn.Things didn't improve for hedge fund manager Man Group during the second half, leaving it facing a 57% slump in full year profit before one-off items. Profit before tax and $20m of exceptional costs for the year to 31 March is expected to be $530m following a second half profit of $238m, down from $292m in the first six months. Mitchells and Butlers is to focus of food and cull some of its best known drinks chains including All Bar One and O'Neills after a strategic review of where the business is heading. Chairman John Lovering, who took over after a boardroom coup in January, says the new focus is to "rapidly reshape Mitchells & Butlers into a food-led business centred around core concepts which have significant growth potential". TUI Travel noted a 'significant recovery in consumer demand' for leisure holidays and is well positioned to meet company expectations for the year ending 30 September 2010.