UK Market News

LONDON (ShareCast) - London's blue chips look set to open higher after Wall Street closed up 2% last night. Traders expect Footsie (news) to gain 35 points in early dealings.

London-listed drugs giant AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN.L - news) and US pharmaceuticals major Bristol-Myers Squibb said their jointly developed treatment for type 2 diabetes has cleared a regulatory hurdle in Europe.

Profits tumbled last year at Berkeley but the London and South East -focused housebuilder reports some stability returning to the market in the last three months.

Laundry and workwear group Davis Service said revenue in the first five month of the year was ahead of 2008 while operating profit was broadly in line with a strong comparable period, benefiting from favourable foreign exchange translation.

Filtrona (LSE: FLTR.L - news) 's overall performance in the year to date has been in line with expectations and the filters group said its restructuring programmes are progressing well.

Port operator Forth Ports (LSE: FPT.L - news) said its results for the first half of the year are expected to be in line with last year with the exception of its materials recycling business and its container services business at Tilbury, which have been affected by the downturn.

Just Retirement (LSE: JR.L - news) confirmed that Avalon Acquisitions is considering a possible offer for the life assurance group.

In the press, the FT writes that Alistair Darling is planning a new Banking Act this year that will strengthen the role of the Financial Services Authority, in an unexpected move that follows criticism that the Bank of England failed to warn adequately of the impending banking crisis.