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FTSE 100 expected to dip 1% on 'super Thursday'
StockMarketWire.com
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The FTSE 100 was 59.97 points down this morning at 6,507.29 as the market awaited big name reports on 'super Thursday' as well as any developments in the Reddit attack on hedge funds.
The impact of Redditors attacking hedge fund shorts is causing uncertainty with the Dow down 2% by the close last night and the FTSE 100 expected to fall more than 1%. A spat over vaccines involving AstraZeneca, the UK and EU also didn't help sentiment.
Budget Airline EasyJet reported a slump in first quarter revenue and said it expected second-quarter capacity of just 10% of the prior-year period as lockdowns continued to dent air travel activity.
For the three months ended 31 December, revenue fell 88.4% to £165 million year-on-year as number of flights slumped 83.3% following an 87.1% reduction in the passengers. The news sent its share price down 2.31% in early morning trading to 697.5p.
Similarly, Hungarian airline Wizz Air has reported a €116 million (£102 million) quarterly loss, as restrictions continue to inhibit the aviation market.
The company said that it carried only 2.3 million passengers, down 77% compared to the same time last year, causing revenue to fall 76.5% to €149.9 million (£132.7 million). Its share price, however, remained stable this morning at £42.44.
Euromoney also reported a fall in revenue in the first quarter of the year as the pandemic-led impact on physical events hurt revenue in its institutional investor business. In spite of the revenue fall, its share price remained stable in early morning trading, rising 0.41% to 958p.
Britvic's share price tumbled more than 2% in early morning trading to 745.5p as the soft-drinks maker reported a decline in first quarter revenue and said performance would continue to be affected by the pandemic-led sales weakness in its out-of-home division.
In the first quarter, total revenue fell 9.8% to £328.1 million and was down 5.8%, when the the disposal of the French private label juice business was excluded.
Alcoholic drinks maker Diageo, meanwhile, has raised its interim dividend even as first-half profit and sales declined amid lower pandemic fuelled sales from pubs and bars.
For the six months ended 31 December, Reported net sales fell 4.5% during the second half of the year, while operating profit declined 8.3% to £2.2 billion. Its share price was up more than 3.5% in early morning trading, reaching £29.55.
Private equity group 3i reported an increase in the third-quarter net asset as higher returns in its private equity portfolio helped offset the impact of a stronger sterling.
For the quarter ended 31 December, net asset value per share increased to 936p from 905p quarter-on-quarter and total returns grew 18.7%. Its share price remained stable at market open, down just 0.18% at £11.23.
Wealth management group St. James's Place has reported a modest 1% gross inflow increase for Q4 against the same period in 2019, totaling £4.02 billion. On the back of the announcement, its share price rose by almost 1% to £12.01.
Tritax Big Box REIT saw record take-up of logistic real estate space in 2020, reporting year-on-year growth of more than 50%. Its share price, however, fell slightly in early morning trading, down 0.55% to 181.25p.
Mining group Rio Tinto has announced its new executive team, tasked with rebuilding trust and bolstering the company's ESG credentials.
Chief executive Jakob Stausholm has appointed Simon Trott, currently chief commercial officer, as permanent chief executive of Rio Tinto's Iron Ore business, while former copper & diamonds chief executive Arnaud Soirat will become group COO.
Kellie Parker, now managing director of pacific operations aluminium, will join the executive committee as chief executive of Australia. Its share price, however, fell 2.86% as the market opened, to 113.7p. Story provided by StockMarketWire.com
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