London pre-open: Mixed messages from Europe and Asia

Investors are still concerned about problems in the Eurozone, especially following the decision by ratings agency Moody's to downgrade Ireland's foreign- and local-currency government bond ratings by one notch to Ba1 from Baa3, regarded as 'junk' status, but with Asian markets putting in a good shift overnight, there is also the possibility that bulls might return to the market.As a result, the market is in two minds, with City traders suggesting that the top-share index will open a handful of points lower.High street bellwether Marks and Spencer battled through the second quarter of 2011, growing market share and delivering food sales growth that was ahead of expectations in some quarters. Like-for-like (lfl) sales in the UK were flat on the general merchandise sales side, in line with the prediction made by broker Matrix Group, while food sales grew 3.3% on a lfl basis year-on-year, ahead of Matrix's forecast of 3.0% growth. Underlying sales at iconic British luxury brand Burberry soared by 34% in the first quarter, driven largely by strong growth in China. Total revenue jumped from £282m to £367m in the three months to 30 June, as Retail sales surged by 49% (at constant currency) from £171m to £245m and Wholesale revenue grew by 11% to £95m, from £87m the year before. Licensing revenue increased by 6% from £24m to £27m.Inter-dealer broker ICAP has seen a return of improved market activity and growth since the beginning of June, enabling the group to meet internal expectations of a 4% decline in revenue in the second quarter of 2011. --jh