S&P Futures

US markets had problems making headway due to ongoing concerns about Iraq and interest rates.

Tesco's profits powered ahead with profits up 22% at 1.708 billion pounds which met analysts' forecasts. Strong growth was announced with sales up 18.7 percent led by international sales up 29 percent.

Shell, Standard & Poor's stripped it of its top-tier "AAA" credit rating after its reserves were overstated.

Taylor Woodrow said trading in the first quarter had been very strong with 52% of its 2004 budgeted sales completed or reserved so far this year, compared with 39 percent at the same time last year. The house building had been strong in the United Kingdom, North America and Spain.

ARM Holdings reported profits of 9.4 million pounds in the first quarter on revenues of 35 million pounds easily beating analysts forecasts beating of 8.3 million pounds. They gave a positive outlook for the semiconductor industry for the rest of 2004.

Carpetright said sales in the UK were up 4.2 percent in the half year helped by good trading in the January sales and Easter.

ARM Holdings (I), Carr's Milling Industries (I), James R. Knowles (I), Mouchel Parkman (I), CeNeS Pharmaceuticals PLC (F), Gresham Computing PLC (F),

Highland Gold Mining (F), Rugby Estates (F), Tesco (F), ZOO Digital (F)

Brandon Hire (AGM), Dobbies Garden Centres (AGM), Hemscott (AGM), HgCapital Trust (AGM), Management Consulting (AGM), Carpetright (Trading),

Jubilee Investment Trust (EGM), Virtue Broadcasting (EGM)

08:30 March CPI

Black & Decker, General Motors, Pfizer, Mattel, Mellon Financial, Millipore, Safeco, Motorola, Wells Fargo Raytheon, Charles Schwab, US Bancorp Radioshack, Teradyne, Lucent Technologies, Applied Micro Circuits, Sprint,

Pinault-Printemps-Redoute SA, Schneider Electric SA, Valeo SA