LONDON (AFX) - UK blue chips look set for an opening rally as traders return after the long August Bank Holiday break. This reflects a recovery overnight on Wall Street and in Asia as US indices bounced back from Friday's falls amid receding worries over the impact of Hurricane Katrina's battering of the Gulf of Mexico, dealers said.
Spread bettors IG Index expect the FTSE 100 index to open around 20 points firmer today. The UK blue chip index closed 27.6 points weaker on Friday at 5,228.1.

MARKETS
DJIA 10,463.050, up 65.76
Nasdaq Comp 2,135.05, up 14.28
S&P 500 1,209.49, up 4.39
Tokyo: Nikkei closed at 12,453.14, up 143.31
Hang Seng midday 14,873.11, up 36.14
Gold 438.90 usd (438.90 usd)
Oil - Brent Oct 64.87 usd (64.87 usd)



ECONOMICS
* UK July consumer credit/mortgage lending
* UK July final M4/M4 lending
* UK CBI quarterly distributive trades survey

MARKET EXPECTATIONS
* Bunzl. Williams de Broe forecasts six months to June pretax profit before exceptionals and goodwill 110.5 mln stg vs 98.8 mln; interim dividend 4.5 pence, up 8 pct
* CRH six months to June pretax profit before exceptionals under IFSR 378 mln eur; interim dividend 11.0 cents vs 9.6
* CRC Group. Charles Stanley forecasts six months to June pretax profit 3.3 mln stg vs 1.9 mln; interim dividend 2.5 pence, unchanged
* Filtrona. Williams de Broe forecasts pro forma six months to June pretax profit 24.5 mln stg; interim dividend 2.0 pence
* Mears Group. Arbuthnot Securities forecasts six months to June pretax profit 4.3 mln stg vs 3.2 mln; interim dividend 0.7 pence vs 0.5


TODAY'S PRESS
* Hurricane whips up oil price; Katrina forces Gulf refineries to shut; crude tops 70 usd and natural gas rises 23 pct; Saudis promise increased output to fill gap - FT
* OLD MUTUAL eyes bid for Skandia; London-listed group considers 3.1 bln stg offer; Nordic insurer presses for higher price; negotiations continue after weekend talks - FT - FT
* UK retailers are moving production from China to Eastern Europe, Turkey and India as customers' appetite for "fast fashion" forces a fundamental rethink of supply chains - FT
* Intelsat to buy PanAmSat for 3.2 bln usd cash
* AEGIS understood to have held talks with French rival Havas about combining the groups' media operations in a venture designed to bolster their position against giants such as WPP and Publicis - Telegraph
* After a miserable summer, trading conditions on Britain's high streets are going to deteriorate further, according to new sales figures from the CBI - Times

PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on Gordon Brown's prudence, Satellite operators (private equity investors behind PanAmSat poised for a sky-high return), French takeovers (Paris is throwing up barricades at home), Hurricane Katrina (importance to long-term insurance investors is what impact this hurricane has on pricing)

Good morning all and thanks Greystone and Digger. Great thread but what's happened to the other regular posters?

Druid - I think we have turned into a lurkers paradise. Thanks for stopping by an saying hello. :-)

Morning Druid and All,

People probably on Holiday or just feeling a bit lazy.

Thanks Greystone and Stan.

It would be nice if all lurkers would just say "Hello" so that we can all know they are.

The information on this thread is very good and although I don't contribute much I do like to say "Hello" from time to time.

My main long term stock is BARC which has performed very bad this year from 586 on 1st Jan 2005 to 555 atm. Fingers crossed for breakeven or more by 31st Dec 2005. Even if it does not rise much the divi. is good.

End of day market wrap