London pre-open: Stocks set for slightly higher open

(Sharecast News) - UK stocks are set to start the last session of the week slightly higher with investors waiting on the release of a batch of key US economic data, particularly as regards consumer confidence.
As of 0730 FTSE 100 futures were adding 25.0 points to 6,032.

Ahead of the release of the University of Michigan's consumer confidence survey, which was due out at 1500 BST, financial markets were digesting a set of poor second-tier indicators out in the UK.

Contrary to expectations, consultancy GfK's consumer confidence gauge slipped from a reading of -0.2 in August to -1.8 for September.

Lloyds business barometre on the other hand showed an improvement in overall business confidence for a third consecutive month in August, improving by eight percentage points to -14%, but it remained well below the historical long-term average.

To take note of, Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, is due to speak at 1405 BST.

Investors eye dividend restart at Essentra

Essentra said business was improving and that it would consider restarting dividends in the current year as it posted a 40% decline in underlying profit. Adjusted operating profit for the six months to the end of June fell to £29m from £48m as revenue dropped 11% to £448m. The company paid no interim dividend and said it was on track to meet market expectations for annual profit.

Resolute Mining reported a 33% improvement in revenues in its first half on Friday, to $305.29m (£230.24m), as its EBITDA surged 85% year-on-year to $101.11m. The AIM-traded firm declared no interim dividend for the six months ended 30 June, in line with the prior year, as its all-in sustaining cost rose to $1,020 per ounce, from $828 a year earlier.