The FTSE 100 traded sideways on Thursday after a mixed set of corporate releases evened out their impact on the wider index.
Barclays, Taylor Wimpey, Unilever, and WPP were among FTSE 100 companies reporting on Thursday.
The European session started off on the front foot after Meta reported upbeat results and helped lift US tech overnight.
US stocks opened higher again on Thursday and Meta soared over 15% in early trade.
“The owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp saw signs of recovery in its advertising business, helping to dispel concerns about the continued relevance of these platforms,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“This, plus the greater efficiency pursued by the business in recent months, is clearly helping to win the market over, although CEO Mark Zuckerburg’s continued insistence on pursuing his metaverse vision will ring in the ears of some investors like tinnitus.
“Meta also notably flagged its own developments on AI as the tech giants compete for their share of real estate in this nascent market.”
Barclays
Although UK banks trade at a significant discount to their US peers on an earnings and book value basis, they have demonstrated a degree of prowess through the recent turbulence.
Barclays followed Standard Chartered yesterday in reporting robust activity in Q1 with little impact from the banking crisis. Barclays deposits in fact grew by 2% during the crisis.
Higher interest rates produced an improved net interest margin in Q1 2023 for Barclays, when compared to the same period last year.
Investment banking activity was tepid but Barclays’ consumer business in the UK – and internationally – helped lift profit before tax 16% to £2.6bn.
“Barclays has posted a very solid first quarter, comfortably beating market consensus on profit amidst a turbulent tie for the broader banking sector,” said Matt Britzman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Housebuilders
Taylor Wimpey was the latest housebuilder to reveal signs of improvement in the first quarter with a slight pick up in recent weeks. Taylor Wimpey shares were little moved after rising in sympathy with Persimmon yesterday.
WPP was among companies suffering on Thursday after the advertising giant said they were concerned about the slowdown in ad spending in tech giants.
WPP shares were down 2.5% at the time of writing.