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FTSE moves back into the black on positive US cues
StockMarketWire.com
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A strong start to the trading day in the US helped the FTSE 100 erase its lunchtime losses to trade 0.2% higher at 6,736.96 by the close.
At 4.30pm UK time the S&P 500 was up 1.4% to 3,954.48 as yesterday's weaker than expected inflation number and the passing of a big US stimulus package helped boost sentiment.
Morrisons has seen pre-tax profits fall more than 60% in 2020, with a £290 million hit relating to 'Covid costs', despite a rise in sales and revenue for the high street supermarket chain. Its shares ticked dipped 1% to 175.25p.
Rolls Royce has said its performance in 2020 has been 'significantly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic' as it reported a fall in revenue to £11.8 billion. It advanced 0.8% to 113.9p.
WPP has said it had a 'remarkably resilient' 2020 as it reported a 9.3% fall in revenue to £12 billion. It advanced 0.3% to 915p.
Drug companies GlaxoSmithKline GSK and Vir Biotechnology said they would seek authorisation in the US and other countries for their Covid-19 antibody after late-stage clinical trials showed the drug reduced hospitalisation and risk of death by 85% and was effective against other variants. GSK's share price fell 0.5% to £12.57.
Online trading platform IG reported better-than-expected third-quarter performance and said it was on track to achieve its three-year revenue target in its significant opportunities portfolio by year-end, one year ahead of the target. Its share price rose 5% to 851.5p.
Revenue at Spirent Communications was up 4% in 2020, boosted by strong demand for both lab and live assurance solutions and our new 5G device testing solutions and services. Its share price rose 6.7% on the back of the news, reaching 253.5p.
The Trainline has reported a fall in net ticket sales to £783 million, equivalent to 21% of the prior year, as the measures put in place to curb the spread of coronavirus resulted in a significant reduction in passenger volume. In spite of the falls in ticket sales, the company's share price rose 0.9% to 484.6p
Real Estate company Derwent London swung to annual loss as the value of its property portfolio owing to the impact of Covid-19 lockdowns. For the year ended 31 December 2020, pre-tax loss was £83.0 million compared to a profit of £280.6 million in 2019, while net property and other income rose to £183 million from £182.6 million. Its share price was up slightly to £33.14.
Marshalls has reinstated its dividends after a progressive growth in sales in the second half of 2020. The company has recommended a final dividend of 4.30p as sales in the fourth quarter of 2020 ended ahead of the same period the year prior. The announcement resulted in a share price surge of 8.9% to 760p.
Bus company Go Ahead upgraded its full-year guidance after its London & International bus business secured all its expected revenue for the current year following successful contract bidding. The share price was up 4.6% to £13.42.
Story provided by StockMarketWire.com
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