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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Convatec Group PLC | 267.8 | 6.1% |
| International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. | 148.7 | 4.8% |
| Anglo American PLC | 1,750.7 | 2.8% |
| Smith & Nephew PLC | 1,077.0 | 2.7% |
| Weir Group PLC | 1,928.0 | 2.6% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC | 1,841.0 | -3.0% |
| Fresnillo PLC | 479.3 | -2.9% |
| Smurfit Kappa Group PLC | 3,254.0 | -2.5% |
| Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC | 5,007.2 | -2.1% |
| Antofagasta PLC | 1,741.5 | -2.0% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 YEAR |
| UK 100 INDEX | 7,679 | 0.4% | -3.0% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 38,661 | 0.2% | 17.7% |
| DAX INDEX | 17,717 | 0.1% | 13.9% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 39,599 | -1.2% | 39.9% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 7,764 | 0.4% | 5.4% |
| Commodities | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 79.08 | -0.06% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 82.89 | -0.08% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 2,154 | 0.3% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 388 | 0.1% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 called to open -34 points at 7,645. The UK 100 looks set to open lower this morning; this comes after a strong showing from the blue chip index post yesterday’s Spring Budget. Data this morning from the Halifax House Price Index showed a 1.7% year-on-year rise in February, slowing from 2.3% in January. Month on month, the index added 0.4% compared to 1.2% the previous month. Stocks rose on Wall Street yesterday, with the market turning a corner following back-to-back losing sessions. The S&P added 0.51% to 5,104.76, while the Nasdaq gained 0.58% to 16,031.54. The Dow Jones traded higher by 75.86 points, or 0.2%, to close at 38,661.05.
Admiral Group state that their outlook was more positive despite global uncertainties after posting a 23% jump in annual pretax profit, benefiting from price hikes and more customers. They reported a group profit before tax of £442.8m for the year ended Dec 31st, up from £361.2m YoY.
Aviva reported a slightly better-than-expected 9% rise in 2023 operating profit to £1.47bn, helped by strong performance in general and health insurance. They also announced a £300m share buyback. Analysts had expected an operating profit of £1.43bn. They also increased their dividend by 8% to 33.4p.
Beazley announced a $325m share buyback after its annual pretax profit more than doubled to a record $1.25bn, partly benefiting from strong growth in property risk premiums. Insurance written premiums increased by 7% in 2023 to $5.6bn.
ITV reported a 32% drop in FY adjusted operating profit to £489m, reflecting a tough advertising market and investment in its ITVX streaming service. They said they’re on track to deliver at least £750m of digital revenue by 2026. Their total advertising revenue in Q1 2024 was expected to be up by 3%.
Melrose have raised their profit outlook for this year by £30m, buoyed by pent-up demand in civil aviation, after they posted a surge in 2023 profit ahead of market consensus. Their adjusted operating profit from continuing operations for the year ended Dec 31st came in at £390m, ahead of average analyst estimates of £327.2m.
Rentokil Initial expects good underlying trading momentum for their FY.
Virgin Money UK agrees to takeover by Nationwide Building society, valuing the company at £2.9bn.
Numis Upgrades Man Group to Buy (6 Buys / 4 Holds / 1 Sell)
Peel Hunt Upgrades Domino’s Pizza Group to Buy (4 Buys / 3 Holds / 0 Sells)
UK
Admiral Group
Aviva
Beazley
Coats Group
Darktrace
Elementis
Harbour Energy
ITV
Melrose Industries
PageGroup
Rentokil Initial
Spirax-Sarco Engineering
Tyman
US
Broadcom
Costco Wholesale
DocuSign
MongoDB
UK
Informa
Just Group
US
None
Chinese Trade Balance USD
Chinese Imports
Chinese Exports
German Factory Orders s.a.
US Challenger Job Cuts
ECB Monetary Policy Statement
ECB Main Refinancing Operations Rate
ECB Rate On Deposit Facility
US Initial Jobless Claims
ECB Press Conference
Japanese Gross Domestic Product Annualized
UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 7th March 2024:
Rio Tinto
HSBC Holdings
Standard Chartered
Berkeley Group Holdings
UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 7th March 2024:
Safestore Holdings
Energean
SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust
Assura
PZ Cussons
Law Debenture Corporation
Temple Bar Investment Trust
JPMorgan Global Growth & Income
Ruffer Investment Company
Renishaw
Personal Assets Trust
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