LONDON (AFX) - Leading shares are tipped to open higher, following gains on Wall Street Friday, with a raft of corporate updates providing investor focus, dealers said. According to spread betting firm IG Index, the FTSE 100 is set to open 18 points higher at around 5,530.

MARKETS
Tokyo: Nikkei closed at 15,738.70 up 334.65
Hang Seng midday: 15,186.66 down 13.72

TODAY'S PRESS
* Controversial US Sarbanes-Oxley law costs BP 100 mln usd a year - Telegraph
* MACQUARIE plays down fears of increased fees at LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE - Times
* EURONEXT waiting in the wings for LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE as MACQUARIE faces
'put-up or shut-up' bid deadline this Thursday - Daily Mail
* TESCO set to seize corner shops crown, according to Verdict Research report
- Daily Express
* BALFOUR BEATTY thought to be planning to trump CARILLION's bid for MOWLEM -
Times
* Sir Richard Branson ready to cut a deal with NTL which would value his
VIRGIN MOBILE stake at significant discount to minority share offer - FT
* At least 5 bidders have proceeded to the second round in the auction for
FIBERNET - FT
* NORTHGATE INFORMATION head office damaged by Buncefield oil depot fire -
Times
* CVC and Montagu Private Equity front-runners to acquire BSN Median, a joint
venture between SMITH & NEPHEW and BEIERSDORF as Apax drops out - FT
* Opec confident oil stay above 50 usd a barrel boosted by strong
demand, as cartel leaders gather for meeting today in Kuwait City - FT
* CADBURY SCHWEPPES tax case, which begins today, could hit EU coffers - FT
* Plus trading platform to offer trades on all UK small cap stocks - FT
* Tokyo Stock Exchange admits error after 128 mln stg botched trade - FT

PRESS COMMENT
FT
The Lex Column: VIACOM (Dreamworks deal can plug holes in Paramount pipeline
with films already in progress and a three year deal with Stephen Spielberg's
team for new movies); Asian Remittances (Fund flows from overseas workers is
now a main source of overseas funding for some countries, according to the
World Bank); Growth & Equities (Despite the lack of clear correlations,
investors cannot ignore the business cycle)

Independent
Small Talk: TEN ALPS (New house broker can only mean deals); PHARMAGENE
(Merger with Asterand not likely to be its last bit of corporate activity);
Gas Turbine Efficiency (AIM flotation tomorrow); COOLABI (plans to extend
Hammer Films relationship)

Times
Rumour of the day: AWG (considering sending Morrison Construction)

morning all

Midday Market Summary

Good afternoon all,

Bit late today.

lw,just a bit :-)

Not as late as me, Afternoon All.

Hi MB :-) (and stan too!)

Evening all.... ;-)

End-of-day market Summary