London pre-open: Early gains predicted

Footsie is tipped to moved ahead in early dealings as Saudi Arabia moved to calm the panic stricken oil markets. Initial estimates are for the index to open up 26 points from its previous close of 5,920.Saudi Arabia is prepared to increase supplies and the kingdom has entered "active talks" with European oil companies on how to meet the shortfall caused by the turmoil in Libya, the FT reports.State-controlled Lloyds Banking will dominate the headlines on the company front. It swung back into an underlying profit last year as impairment charges almost halved and retail net margins improved. Pre-tax profits were £281m, down from £1bn, but on a continuing basis profits were £2.2bn against a loss of £6.4bn. Market forecasts had been for a profit between £1-1.8bn.The first set of results from International Airlines Group (IAG), the company formed by the merger of British Airways and Iberia, showed the group made a profit last year, despite higher fuel costs. The pro-forma results for 2010 are based on full year figures from Iberia and nine-month figures from British Airways, and showed 2010 revenue rose 10% to €14,798m from €13,456m in 2009. Profit before tax was €84m, compared to a loss of €1,158m in 2009.