FTSE 100 Modestly Higher On Earnings

RTTNews | 11h 50minuter sedan

(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks are up in positive territory Thursday morning, outperforming peers, as investors react to a slew of earnings updates. Worries about global economic growth in the wake of fresh tariff threats by U.S. President Donald Trump limit market's upside a bit.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 19.60 points or 0.22% at 8,751.06f a few minutes ago.

Aerospace and defense major Rolls-Royce Holdings shares are soaring nearly 19% after the company reported 2024 operating profit of £2.46 billion, beating analyst expectations. Looking ahead, for fiscal 2025, the company now projects underlying operating profit of 2.7 billion pounds to 2.9 billion pounds, as well as free cash flow of 2.7 billion pounds to 2.9 billion pounds.

Aviva is gaining nearly 2.5%. Aviva reported full-year profit of 683 million pounds or 23.3 pence per share from 1.09 billion pounds or 37.2 pence per share in 2023.

IAG, London Stock Exchange, BAE Systems and Melrose Industries are up 2.2 to 2.5%.

AstraZeneca, Hikma Pharma and Hiscox are gaining 1.2 to 1.3%. JD Sports Fashion, Intertek, Glencore, Marks & Spencer, BT Group and Easyjet are modestly higher.

WPP is plunging 15.5%. WPP reported profit before tax of 1.031 billion pounds for the full year, significantly higher than 346 million pounds in the previous year. Earnings per share rose to 49.4p from 10.1p in the prior year.

Howden Joinery is declining 7.4% after reporting a 0.3% drop in operating profit at 339.2 million pounds in 2024, from 340.2 million pounds in the previous year. Net profit was 249.3 million pounds or 45.4p per share, down from 254.6 million pounds or 46.3p per share last year.

Haleon is down 3.4% after reporting a fall in revenue. However, the company reported a rise in pre-tax income, helped by a decline in costs and a rise in other incomes.

Barclays Group, Diageo, RightMove, Taylor Wimpey, Croda International, 3i Group, Vistry Group, SSE, Spirax-Sarco Engineering, Auto Trader Group, Experia and Mondi are lower by 1.2 to 3%,

Wealth management firm St. James's Place plc said its fiscal 2024 IFRS profit before shareholder tax was 535.9 million pounds, compared to prior year's loss of 4.5 million pounds. Earnings per share were 72.6 pence, compared to loss of 1.8 pence last year.

Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, or SMMT, said UK car production logged a double-digit decline in January reflecting weakness in key markets combined with planned model changeovers. The data said vehicle production slid 17.7% from a year ago. Factories rolled out 71,104 cars and 6,908 commercial vehicles. In the same period last year, there was a bumper performance, when car and commercial vehicle output climbed 21.0 percent and 27.5 percent.

Production for home market declined 30.5% and that for exports decreased 13.4% from the previous year.

U.S. Pending Home Sales Plunge To All-Time Low In January

A report released by the National Association of Realtors on Thursday showed pending home sales in the U.S. plunged by much more than expected in the month of January, extending the sharp pullback seen in December. NAR said its pending home sales index dove 4.6 percent to an all-time low of 70.6 in January after tumbling 4.1 percent to a revised 74.0 in December.

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U.S. Durable Goods Orders Rebound In January As Aircraft Demand Skyrockets

Reflecting a substantial rebound by orders for transportation equipment, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods surged by more than expected in the month of January. The Commerce Department said durable goods orders shot up by 3.1 percent in January after tumbling by a revised 1.8 percent in December.

RTTNews | 7h 13minuter sedan

U.S. Jobless Claims Climb More Than Expected To Two-Month High

The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits climbed much more than expected in the week ended February 22nd. The report said initial jobless claims rose to 242,000, an increase of 22,000 from the previous week's revised level of 220,000. Economists had expected initial jobless claims to inch up to 221,000.

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U.S. Q4 GDP Growth Unrevised At 2.3%

A report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed the U.S. economy grew in line with its preliminary estimate in the fourth quarter of 2024.

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U.S. Durable Goods Orders Rebound More Than Expected In January

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U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Climb Much More Than Expected

The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits climbed much more than expected in the week ended February 22nd.

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Eurozone Lending To Private Sector Strengthens

Eurozone lending to the private sector increased at a faster pace in January as interest rate cuts boosted demand for loans from businesses and households, data from the European Central Bank revealed Thursday. Claims on the private sector expanded 2.0 percent from a year ago, faster than the 1.7 percent rise in December.

RTTNews | 9h 26minuter sedan

Bay Street Seen Opening Higher

Canadian shares may open higher on Thursday, on strong results from Royal Bank of Canada and higher crude oil prices. Weak bullion prices, and worries about U.S. tariffs may hurt sentiment and limit market's upside.

RTTNews | 9h 32minuter sedan

EURUSD	1.04081	GBPUSD	1.26181	AUDUSD	0.62512
USDJPY	149.986	USDCAD	1.44325	USDCHF	0.89914