Markets Overview:

The UK 100 called to open -5 points at 8,707.  The UK 100 looks set to open marginally lower this morning, the UK's bluechip index however has seen a dividend impact of 20 points this morning.

Stateside yesterday saw the S&P 500 climb to a fresh record on Wednesday as stocks remain resilient despite a continuously cautious Federal Reserve and President Donald Trump's threat of more tariffs. The S&P 500 rose 0.24%, settling at 6,144.15 and earning its second record close in a row. The index also touched a fresh all-time high during the session. The Nasdaq added 0.07% to close at 20,056.25, while the Dow Jones advanced 71.25 points, or 0.16%, to end at 44,627.59.  Shares of Microsoft gained 1.3% and led the broader technology sector higher after the company unveiled its first ever quantum computing chip. Tesla climbed almost 2%. Analog Devices surged nearly 10% after posting better-than-expected quarterly results on the top and bottom lines.

Stock exchanges in the Asia-Pacific traded below the line this morning after The People's Bank of China (PBoC) decided to keep its key interest rates unchanged in February. The investors also gauged the possibility of a new trade deal being struck between Washington and Beijing amid the tariffs upset. Meanwhile, Australia reported its latest unemployment figures.   South Korea's Kospi fell 0.90% as of 7:10 am CET. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite dipped 0.13% at 7:11 am CET, while the Shenzhen Composite edged up 0.17% at 7:12 am CET. Meanwhile, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed 1.15% lower, Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 1.48% at 7:11 am CET, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 1.22%.

Company News & Broker Comments:

Company News:

Anglo American said on Thursday it suffered a loss of $3.1 billion after taking impairment losses of $3.8 billion, mostly due to its ailing diamond unit, as it races to refocus the miner into a major copper producer following a bruising takeover battle from BHP last year.

Centrica reported earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of £2.3bn for the 12 months ended 31 December. While this was down from last year’s £3.5bn, it was well ahead of analyst expectations of £1.6bn.  Adjusted earnings per share came in at 19p, ahead of prior forecasts of 18.62p.  Off the back of the figures Centrica on Thursday said it planned to hike its dividend by 13 per cent to 4.5p and extended its existing share buyback programme by £500m.  The owner of British Gas also reaffirmed its targets for the years ahead. According to its annual report, the energy giant is looking for a £1.6bn run-rate of EBITDA by the end of 2028 and intends to increase 2025 dividend per share to 5.5p.

Lloyds Banking Group reported a 20.4% drop in annual profit on Thursday, missing market expectations, as interest rate cuts hit lending margins and Britain's sluggish economic recovery hurt the bank's income.  Britain's biggest mortgage lender reported a pretax profit of £5.97 billion pounds ($7.52 billion) for 2024, compared to £7.5 billion a year ago.  Analysts were expecting profit of £6.39 billion, according to a company-compiled consensus.  included a £700 million provision for potential remediation costs relating to motor finance commission.  Including the £450 million provided in 2023 results, Lloyds said the total of £1.15 billion represented its best estimate of the potential impact, including both redress and operational costs.  It said significant uncertainty remains around the final financial impact.  Despite the additional provision, Lloyds has increased its dividend for the year by 15% to 3.17p. This includes a full-year distribution of 2.11p.  It also intends to implement a share buyback programme of up to £1.7 billion as it continues to distribute excess capital to shareholders.

Rio Tinto revenue beat Wall Street estimates. This was despite a slump in iron ore prices, which remain the biggest profit driver for the mining giant.  Despite beating estimates it was its lowest annual underlying profit in five years due to weakened iron ore prices and rising inflation pressures. The mining giant's CEO, Jakob Stausholm, expressed opposition to a shareholder proposal to consolidate the company's dual listing in Sydney, emphasizing the global nature of Rio Tinto's investor base and the attractiveness of its London listing.  Rio Tinto's 2024 underlying profit fell 7.6% to $10.87 billion, missing analyst expectations of $11 billion. The decline was attributed to reduced iron ore demand due to a sluggish real estate sector and high port inventories, despite growth in its copper and aluminium divisions. The company declared a final ordinary dividend of $2.25 per share, down from $2.58 the previous year.

Broker Comments:

No New Broker Comments

Reporting Today:

UK

Anglo American (AAL)

Centrica (CNA)

Hays (HAS)

Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY)

US

Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) PMO

Unity Software (U) PMO

Walmart (WMT) PMO

Block (XYZ) AMC

Booking Holdings (BKNG) AMC

Newmont (NEM) AMC

Rivian Automotive (RIVN) AMC

Reporting Tomorrow:

UK

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.)

Standard Chartered (STAN)

US

None

In Focus Today:

PBoC Interest Rate Decision

German Producer Price Index

US Initial Jobless Claims

Fed's Goolsbee speech

EU Consumer Confidence

Fed's Musalem speech

Today's Ex-Dividends:

UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 20th February 2025:

Imperial Brands

easyJet

Land Securities Group

GSK

AstraZeneca

BP

UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 20th February 2025:

Moonpig Group

NCC Group

PRS REIT

Brunner Investment Trust

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