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FTSE 100 builds on its gains as Wall Street posts strong open
StockMarketWire.com
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By the close the FTSE 100 had built on its gains from earlier in the day to trade around the 6,500 mark. By 4.30pm UK time the S&P 500 was up a more impressive 1.7% to 3,837.33.
There were big drops for some of the heavily shorted stocks which Redditors had targeted in the last week or so with GameStop and AMC Entertainment falling by more than 50%.
The advance for the FTSE lagged that seen in European and US markets thanks to strength in sterling and weakness in index heavyweight BP.
Oil major BP fell 4.6% to 254.9p after it booked a 96% drop in fourth-quarter profit as the pandemic sapped demand for oil and gas.
BP's underlying replacement-cost profit, a measure closely watched by analysts, slumped to £115 million, down from £2.57 billion year-on-year. Full-year losses amounted to an eye-watering £5.69 billion.
Power utility SSE dipped 0.6% to £15.03, having stuck to its full-year earnings guidance after a rise in gas-fired production offset lower generation from renewable sources.
SSE said it still expected adjusted earnings per share for the year through March of between 85p and 90p, and to pay a full-year dividend of 80p per share plus the retail price index.
Marketing and support services group DCC rallied 1.2% to £57.82 after guiding for better-than-expected annual earnings.
DCC said acquisitions completed in the prior year had boosted organic growth in the third quarter.
Banking group Virgin Money UK gained 7.7% to 142p on announcing that it had returned to profit in the first quarter, without giving a specific number, while reiterating its full-year margin guidance.
Virgin Money UK said is first-quarter net interest margin was stable at 152 basis points and was expected to rise in the second quarter and be 'broadly flat' for the full year.
Waste and climate management group Polypipe gained 2.2% to 525p following news that it had acquired underfloor heating supplier Nu-Heat for £27 million.
Polypipe also said trading continued to recover through December, with its annual underlying operating profit expected to be 'slightly ahead' of previous guidance of around £40 million.
Property investor Capital & Counties shed 2.1% to 132.9p, having collected 42% of December rents, which it said was was broadly in line with collection rates at the same point in the previous quarter.
Collection levels for previous periods, meanwhile, had continued to increase, to 50%, 44% and 51% for the second, third and fourth quarters of 2020, respectively.
Budget carrier Ryanair added 4.9%, even as it announced that it carried 88% less passengers during the month of January, owing to pandemic-related travel restrictions.
Mining focused engineering company Weir edged up 1.5p to £19.10 after it completed the planned $405 million sale of its oil and gas division to Caterpillar.
Specialist fuel, food and animal feed distributor NWF gained 3.7% to 197p as it booked a 17% fall in first-half profit, citing Brexit uncertainty and the ongoing challenge of Covid-19.
Story provided by StockMarketWire.com
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