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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Smith & Nephew | 1,360.0 | 3.6% |
| BP | 493.0 | 1.1% |
| Sage Group | 847.4 | 0.9% |
| RELX | 2,596.0 | 0.8% |
| Pearson | 958.6 | 0.4% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Intertek Group | 3,994.0 | -15.8% |
| International Consolidated Airlines Group | 368.0 | -8.1% |
| Antofagasta | 3,824.0 | -8.0% |
| Endeavour Mining | 4,790.0 | -7.6% |
| DCC | 4,840.0 | -6.3% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 Year |
| UK 100 INDEX | 10,484 | 2.8% | 19.7% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 48,501 | 0.8% | 14.1% |
| DAX INDEX | 23,791 | 3.4% | 6.6% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 54,246 | 3.6% | 45.3% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 8,901 | 1.9% | 8.6% |
| Commodity | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 76.78 | 2.98% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 84.07 | 3.28% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 5,173 | 1.7% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 590 | 1.2% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 is called to open -12 points at 10,472. The UK 100 is called slightly lower this morning having yesterday slumped 296 points lower or 2.75% to 10,484.13, while falls in Europe were even sharper, with the benchmarks in Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid and Milan down between 3.5% and 4.5%.
US stocks were again less worried, maybe reassured by their own energy supplies, with the Dow Jones dropping 0.8%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both fell around 1%.
This morning, Asian markets have continued to decline sharply, with Japan’s Nikkei sliding 3.6%, South Korea’s Kospi plummeting over 12% and the Hang Seng down 2.6% in Hong Kong.
Beazley reported a 19% drop in annual pre-tax profit on Wednesday, amid a softening insurance rating environment and weak growth in its cyber insurance business. The insurer, which agreed to an $11 billion takeover bid from Zurich Insurance this week, said its exposure to the Middle East conflict is limited as of now, with no material impact anticipated.
Metro Bank forecast on Wednesday that its return on tangible equity will more than double from current levels over the next 6 months and nearly triple over 18 months, driven by its turnaround strategy and ongoing cost-control steps. The British lender expects to deliver a return on tangible equity of 18% or greater for 2028.
Vistry Group on Wednesday reported full-year 2025 results in line with expectations, delivering adjusted profit before tax of £268.8m, up 2% from £263.5m in 2024, though the company’s cautious 2026 outlook and leadership transition tempered investor enthusiasm. The UK’s leading affordable housing developer saw revenue decline 4% YoY to £4,155.3m from £4,329.2m, as completions fell 9% to 15,658 units. The revenue decline reflected continued challenges in the Open Market segment and uncertainty surrounding the November Budget, which delayed Partner Funded deals. Partner Funded units represented 74% of total completions. For 2026, Vistry expects “good” YoY revenue and volume growth with improved adjusted profit before tax, though at lower margins due to sales incentives. The company targets net cash of approximately £100m by year-end, compared to net debt of £144.2m at December 2025, down from £180.7m a year earlier. The group’s forward order book totalled £4.5bn as of 3 March 2026, up from £4.4bn a year earlier, with 67% of forecast 2026 units secured. Open Market sales rates have jumped over 40% YoY in early 2026, driven by targeted pricing initiatives. Vistry’s building safety provision stood at £303.6m, down £20.8m from the prior year, primarily due to remediation work completed on 21 buildings during 2025.
UK
Quilter (QLT) – Full Year Results
Vistry (VTY) – Full Year Results
Beazley (BEZ) – Full Year Results
US
Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) AMC
UK
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) – Full Year Results
Aviva (AV.): – Full Year Results
Endeavour Mining (EDV) – Full Year Results
Admiral Group (ADM) – Full Year Results
Entain (ENT) – Full Year Results
Grafton Group (GFTU) – Full Year Results
Elementis (ELM) – Full Year Results
Foxtons (FOXT) – Full Year Results
Funding Circle (FCH) – Full Year Results
ITV (ITV) – Full Year Results
Harbour Energy (HBR) – Full Year Results
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) – Full Year Results
Rentokil Initial (RTO) – Full Year Results
US
Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ:COST) AMC
Chinese PMI
German HCOB PMI
EU HCOB PMI
EU Producer Price Index
EU Unemployment Rate
US ADP Employment Change
US S&P Global PMI
US ISM Services PMI
Fed’s Beige Book
UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 5th March 2026:
Rio Tinto
UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on5th March 2026:
Energean
Dr. Martens
Renishaw
Genus
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