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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Jd Sports Fashion PLC | 77.9 | 7.4% |
| Antofagasta PLC | 1,946.5 | 5.1% |
| Endeavour Mining PLC | 1,748.0 | 4.7% |
| Fresnillo PLC | 954.0 | 4.1% |
| International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. | 293.8 | 3.7% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Games Workshop Group PLC | 14,240.0 | -4.4% |
| Tesco PLC | 326.1 | -3.9% |
| Halma PLC | 2,644.0 | -2.5% |
| The Sage Group PLC | 1,170.0 | -1.9% |
| Imperial Brands PLC | 2,745.0 | -1.4% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 YEAR |
| UK 100 INDEX | 8,705 | 0.3% | 12.5% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 41,581 | -0.6% | 6.3% |
| DAX INDEX | 23,381 | 1.0% | 30.0% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 37,752 | -0.3% | -5.6% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 7,828 | -0.4% | 1.6% |
| Commodities | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 66.62 | -0.42% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 70.32 | -0.34% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 3,042 | 0.2% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 504 | 0.5% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 called to open -5 points at 8,700. The UK 100 looks set to open marginally lower this morning, having bucked the trend yesterday for global markets, the UK’s bluechip index closed higher continuing its positive end to last week.
Stocks pulled back Tuesday as a sell-off that has engulfed Wall Street in recent weeks resumed after two straight winning sessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 260.32 points, or 0.62%, closing at 41,581.31. The S&P 500 shed 1.07%, ending at 5,614.66. The broad market index concluded the day 8.6% off its closing high reached in February, bringing it near correction territory. The Nasdaq dropped 1.71% and settled at 17,504.12. Tesla , one of the stocks hardest hit during the market’s recent correction, was down yet again on Tuesday. The stock fell more than 5% after RBC Capital Markets lowered its price target on the electric vehicle name, citing rising competition in the EV space. It has declined more than 36% over the past month.
In Asia on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down marginally. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was 0.1% higher. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed 0.4% lower. On Wednesday, the Bank of Japan kept its interest rates unchanged. The BoJ left its short-term policy rate unchanged at around 0.5% following its latest monetary policy meeting on Wednesday. The decision by the Policy Board was passed by a unanimous vote. Japan’s central bank last revised its key interest rate in January with a 25 basis point hike, the highest level in 17 years.
M&G on Wednesday reported a better-than-expected annual profit, as aggressive cost cuts helped the company ease pressure from high inflation and interest rates in recent years. M&G’s total adjusted operating profit before tax stood at £837 million ($1.09 billion) for 2024, compared with analysts’ consensus of £769 million, as per a company-compiled poll.
Pfizer has raised £2.5 billion by offloading its remaining 7.3% stake in Haleon, the Panadol and Sensodyne business it used to co-own with GSK. Institutional investors last night agreed to buy the FTSE 100-listed shares at a price of 385p, which compares with the closing level of 391p. Alongside the stock market offering, some £170 million of the £2.5 billion total was achieved through a buy back of shares by Haleon.
Santander is to shut almost a quarter of its branch network in June, putting 750 jobs at risk. The Spanish owned high street bank said it plans to close 95 out of its 444 branches, leaving it with 290 full-service branches, 36 reduced hours sites, 18 counter-free locations and five Work Cafés. The bank reported a 63% increase in digital transactions since 2019, while financial transactions completed in branches reduced by 61% in the same period.
UK
Essentra (ESNT)
M&G (MNG)
Softcat (SCT)
US
Signet Jewelers (SIG) PMO
UK
Energean (ENOG)
Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY)
Prudential (PRU)
US
Accenture (ACN) PMO
FedEx (FDX) AMC
Micron Technology (MU) AMC
Nike (NKE) AMC
EU Core Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices
Fed Interest Rate Decision
Fed Monetary Policy Statement
FOMC Economic Projections
US Interest Rate Projections
FOMC Press Conference
UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 20th March 2025:
Hikma Pharmaceuticals
Pearson
Beazley
UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 20th March 2025:
Goodwin
Chemring Group
BlackRock World Mining Trust
Patria Private Equity Trust
HgCapital Trust
Ruffer Investment Company
Law Debenture Corporation
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