The FTSE 100 fell on Thursday as the world learnt of intensifying fighting in Ukraine and the promise of further action by the West on the Russian economy in an attempt to stop Russia’s atrocities.
The FTSE 100 was trading down 0.6% at 7,386 on Thursday morning as strong commodity shares failed to keep the index in positive territory.
“The stock market is trading slightly weaker this morning as investors continue to fret over the consequences of Russian aggression in the Ukraine. OPEC+ agreed to lift crude oil output yesterday, but only by a fraction of the amount that Russia used to supply each day,” said Steve Clayton, Fund Manager at HL Select.
“With the squeeze on energy supplies becoming ever clearer, crude oil prices continue to surge, with Brent crude jumping $4 per barrel to $117 this morning.”
“Iron ore futures are also on the climb so no surprises that commodity producers are dominating the leader board in the stock market this morning.”
Miners Rio Tinto, Antofagasta, Glencore and Anglo American were among the FTSE 100 risers.
Glencore’s share price climbed 5.8% to trade 479.2p, the highest level since 2012, with the commodities producer seeing huge rewards from higher commodity in a time of massive market volatility.
The London Stock Exchange Group saw a share price rise of 7.9% to 6,866p as a result of its Refinitiv acquisition. The Group reported that its cost synergies after the acquisition were ahead of target, noting an annual run-rate of £151 million in 2021.
Evraz rebounded from its drop yesterday with an increase of 6% to 63.5p as bargain hunters stepped in. The price shift comes despite the company’s scheduled exit from the FTSE 100 on March 21 as a result of its volatility following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine impacting its operations in the state.
ITV shares sink
ITV shares fell 16% to 92.5p despite the group’s strong financial performance.ITV is attempting to accelerate their streaming services, with the launch of ITVX in 2022. The new streaming service is expected to raise the firm’s digital revenues to £750m by 2026.
The investment for ITVX amounts to £20m in 2022 and an additional £160m in 2023.
“With the success of ITV Hub, ITV Hub+, Planet V and BritBox we see an exciting opportunity to at least double our digital revenues to £750m by 2026,” said Carolyn McCall, CEO, ITV.
The firm recorded 2021 revenues at $1.7bn which is a 28% rise from 2020 figures. Operating profit grew to £519m in 2021 from £356m. EBITDA increased by 41% to £813m.
The company proposed a final dividend of 3.3p for 2021.
Admiral
Admiral shares are trading down 10% to 2683p following the update on the firm’s financial results. The firm set expectations for dividend pay-outs to be 197p per share, however, they paid out 187p per share in total dividends. The group recorded a loss of £21m from £9m in the International Insurance segment despite growth of 13% in consumers.
Covid claims and business expansions were the reason behind the loss.Gross pretax profits saw an rise of 26% to £769m. Admirals posted a 4% turnover rise from £3.3bn to £3.5bn.
“The strong performance of UK Motor insurance is the key driver of our results. We also continued to expand our customer proposition. In 2021 alone, beyond UK Motor we added more than half a million customers, now representing around 40% of total Group customers,” said Milena Mondini de Focatiis, Group CEO, Admiral.