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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| HIKMA PHARMACEUTICALS PLC | 2,013.0 | 3.4% |
| BARCLAYS PLC | 196.0 | 3.1% |
| HARGREAVES LANSDOWN PLC | 1,122.5 | 2.5% |
| ANTOFAGASTA PLC | 1,439.5 | 2.4% |
| SMITH & NEPHEW PLC | 1,296.0 | 2.3% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| EVRAZ PLC | 246.0 | -12.6% |
| KINGFISHER PLC | 295.6 | -5.6% |
| ROYAL MAIL PLC | 390.0 | -3.0% |
| JD SPORTS FASHION PLC | 155.9 | -3.0% |
| CRH PLC | 3465.0 | -2.9% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 YEAR |
| UK 100 INDEX | 7,498 | 0.1% | 12.6% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 33,132 | -1.4% | 3.7% |
| DAX INDEX | 14,631 | -0.4% | 4.7% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 25,971 | -1.8% | -13.9% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 6,991 | -3.0% | 3.1% |
| Commodities | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 97.58 | 5.95% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 102.86 | 6.22% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 1,943 | 1.8% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 449 | 0.1% |
The UK 100 is called to open -270 points today at 7234. The UK's blue-chip index looks set to slump in early trades after Russia launched what seems to be a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the military action at 5.55am Russian time, which was followed almost immediately by shelling and missile strikes said reports from the country. The reports said there had also been cruise missile attacks on the Ukraine capital Kyiv and further troop mobilisation in the east, on the northern border from Belarus and also in the south. Oil prices surged to over $100 a barrel, while gold moved above $1,910 an ounce with heavy falls in equity markets in the US and also across Asia, this saw Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.81% and South Korea’s Kospi declined 2.61%. The Shanghai Composite in China slipped 1.90% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slumped 3.03%.
Anglo American report FY underlying EBITDA of $20.63bn (2020: $9.8bn) with a FY dividend per share of $4.99 (up from $1.00 previously).
BAE Systems reports a FY21 pretax profit of £2.11bn (2020: £1.6bn) with a final dividend of 15.2p, bringing the FY total to 25.1p.
Centrica report a 2021 pretax profit of £767m (2020: £577m loss) with total customers up to 10.07m from 9.79m YoY.
Hikma Pharmaceuticals reports a 2021 pretax profit of $544m (2020: $558m). Their FY dividend has been increased to 54 cents per share (up from 50 cents previously).
Lloyds reported pretax profits of £6.9bn for 2021, below the £7.2bn average of analyst forecasts. They will buy back £2bn of its own shares and pay a final dividend of 1.33p per share. The profit miss was largely down to huge charges for past misdeeds of £1.3bn, including an additional £600m for payouts and costs related to historic fraud at its HBOS Reading branch.
Rolls-Royce said it expected to return to positive cash flow in 2022, after it reported better-than-expected reduction in its cash burn in 2021.
WPP have announced a £800m share buyback for 2022 after it said an "outstanding" year had enabled it to meet recently upgraded forecasts for 2021 net sales. Its main net sales metric (like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs) had risen 12.1% in 2021. It forecast around 5% growth for 2022.
Berenberg Downgrades Hargreaves Lansdown to Hold from Buy (6 Buys / 3 Holds / 3 Sells)
RBC Upgrades Fresnillo to Outperform from Sector Perform (3 Buys / 11 holds / 0 Sells)
Anglo American
Aston Martin Lagonda
BAE Systems
Centica
Derwent London
Drax Group
Genus
Hays
Hikma Pharmaceuticals
Howden Joinery
Inchcape
Lloyds Bank
Morgan Sindall
Rathbone Brothers
Rolls Royce
Serco Group
Spectris
St James' Place
WPP Group
Evraz
Grafton Group*
Greencoat UK Wind
IMI
International Consolidated Airlines
Jupiter Fund Management
Pearson
Rightmove
Chicago Fed National Activity Index
US Initial Jobless Claims
US New Home Sales
FTSE 100:
Diageo
GlaxoSmithKline
AstraZeneca
Unilever
Standard Chartered
FTSE 250:
Dunelm Group
Redrow
Witan Investment Trust
Plus500
BBGI Global Infrastructure S.A.
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