The FTSE 100 shook off the news no one wanted to hear on Thursday; the UK has entered recession after retail sales crumbled in the key festive trading period.

The long-feared UK recession was confirmed on Thursday as GDP declined 0.3% in the fourth quarter after a 0.1% in the prior quarter. Two consecutive quarters of contraction are considered a technical recession.

However, UK stocks barely blinked with the FTSE 100 gaining 0.1% in Thursday afternoon trade, even as heavyweight dividend payers dragged on the index as they traded ex-dividend.

“Confirmation that the UK is in recession has done nothing to knock UK stocks off course. An economy pushing through mud is not new news and if anything, it might encourage the Bank of England to think harder about cutting interest rates to avoid further economic deterioration. That’s certainly how the market views the situation as UK equities ploughed ahead,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“There were only six fallers on the FTSE 100 and three of those were down to trading without the rights to their next dividend, being BP, Shell and Imperial Brands.”

GDP is a lagging indicator and is only a measure of what happened in the past having little impact on the future company earnings – the metric equity investors are most concerned with.

There will be concerns about the composition of the GDP contraction as far as it was centred around retail spending – which is a leading indicator for the economy.

“Today’s GDP data is a reminder of the headwinds the UK economy faces, with retail sales a particular area of weakness across a broad-based decline in economic activity,” said Adam Vettese, Market Analyst at eToro.

In addition to the big dividend payers losing ground today, retailers Marks & Spencer and Tesco were among the losers after news of poor retail spending.

Notably, Kingfisher was the top riser after being upgraded to ‘buy’ by Citigroup analysts.

Britvic shares rose on Thursday after equity analysts at HSBC increased the beverages group price target.

HSBC Global Research increased their price target from 970p to 990p, citing scale opportunities in Brazil and a strong position in Great Britain.

Analysts highlighted Brazil as Britvic’s growth engine and the potential for the company to increase its presence in the juice and energy drinks market.

Brazil is the world’s 6th largest beverages market, roughly 1.5x larger than the UK, where Britvic is more established and achieves better margins.

The impact of material costs and pricing in Brazil means Britvic’s profit per litre is 12p, significantly lower than 24p in Great Britain and 27p in other international markets.

HSBC notes Britvic’s presence in Brazil is marginal and offers the opportunity to scale operations. Britvic has recently acquired Brazilian company Extra Power expanding their footprint in the country after first entering in 2015.

HSBC’s 990p price target is based on average DCF, EV/EBITDA, and PE multiple forecasts.

Tekcapital shares were trading at the highest level since May 2023 on Thursday after two of the technology group’s portfolio companies announced commercial progress.

The Tekcapital share price had gained 7% to 15p in early trade on Thursday after MicroSalt and Guident announced key commercial progress.

MicroSalt has inked a strategic partnership with American Trading International (ATI) that has the potential to make the company’s consumer products available in 80 countries globally. ATI is a leading US export company assisting with the international distribution of brands including Nestle, Sun-Maid, and Dunkin Doughnuts.

“With a heavy focus on better-for-you US foods and beverages, we are thrilled to welcome MicroSalt® into our selective product portfolio. Their undeniable health benefits directly address global concerns about excessive sodium, aligning with various countries’ initiatives to enforce lower sodium levels in the food industry, and live a healthy, balanced, lifestyle,” said Seth Merrick Wilen, President & CEO at ATI.

Tekcapital has a portfolio of four technology companies with the potential to help the lives of a great many people. Alongside MicroSalt’s update on Thursday, Guident also updated investors on recent progress, specifically the expansion of its strategic partnership with AuVe Tech OÜ.

Guident will integrate its remote monitoring and support services for autonomous vehicles with MiCa, a compact level 4 self-driving shuttle from Auve Tech.

Auve Tech will harness Guident’s teleoperation technology and leading connectivity to enhance the safety of their MiCa shuttles. Guident will receive fees for outfitting each MiCa vehicle and a recurring licensing fee.

“Since establishing our strategic partnership, we have been thrilled to collaborate with the Auve Tech team on several projects. We believe that the combination of our advanced teleoperation technology with the innovative MiCa autonomous shuttle represents a significant leap forward in advancing safety, reliability, and autonomous driving capabilities across diverse weather and traffic conditions,” said Harald Braun, Executive Chairman and CEO at Guident.

MicroSalt shares were over 20% higher at the time of writing on Thursday after the low-sodium technology company announced a strategic partnership with American Trading International (ATI).

ATI is a leading United States exporter working with brands including Nestle, Sun-Maid, and Dunkin Doughnuts. MicroSalt said the inclusion of their products in the ATI portfolio opens the doors to exports to 80 countries globally.

“This collaboration is vital in making MicroSalt® accessible to everyone. Excessive sodium intake is a major contributor to hypertension and heart disease both domestically and abroad. ATI will enable us to offer international consumers delicious, healthy products with reduced sodium levels without impacting product flavour,” said Rick Guiney, CEO of MicroSalt®.

MicroSalt shares were over 13% higher changing hands at 96p at the time of writing on Thursday. The MicroSalt share price had traded significantly above 100p earlier in the session.

The company has developed a low-sodium technology that reduces sodium in food by up to 50%. The UK Investor Magazine was joined by MicroSalt Non-Exec Chair, Judith Batchelar OBE recently for a deep-dive into the low-sodium market and the growth opportunity for MicroSalt.

Judith explained an underlying shift towards lower sodium products and a supportive regulatory environment.

While today’s announcement relates to the company’s consumer products, MicroSalt’s focus is squarely on the B2B opportunity in 2024 and assisting potential partners in reformulating their ingredients using MicroSalt’s technology.

The World Health Organisation has set sodium reduction targets that could save 7 million lives by 2030, if met.

MicroSalt shares listed on London’s AIM 1st February 2024 with an admission price of 43p.

Sound Energy shares touched fresh all-time lows this week as the oil and gas company fails to inspire investor confidence amid slow progress in developing gas assets in Morocco.

The Moroccan assets hold great potential, yet the market has learned little of development progress in recent months and shareholders are seemingly growing frustrated with further perceived delays.

The company did a sterling job in securing project-level financing for Tendrara last year boosting shareholder hopes for the commencement of sustainable production at the project.

However, investors have received little in the way of official releases from the company in recent months, apart from a series of updates about restructuring financing agreements and the conversion of loan notes.

The Sound Energy share price has been dogged by ongoing loan note conversions.

Companies that are subject to persistent convertible loan note conversions can fall into a ‘death spiral’ of regular shareholder dilution as loan note holders are issued new shares.

Sound Energy’s convertible loan note holders last converted notes into fresh equity in November, exercising a £250,000 tranche at 2.25p.

The note holders have an additional £250,000 remaining to exercise. With Sound Energy shares trading at 0.60p yesterday, should the holders wish to exercise, they may have to do so at the lowest level for Sound Energy on record.

The FTSE 100 largely reversed yesterday’s losses on Wednesday after UK CPI inflation came in cooler than expected.

UK CPI inflation for January was flat at 4% compared to consensus expectations of 4.2%. Although inflation remains well above the Bank of England’s target of 2%, there is a clear trend of UK inflation easing which will support rate cuts later this year.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.95% at the time of writing reversing much of Tuesday’s losses caused by an upside surprise in US inflation.

“The FTSE 100 was up in early trading as yesterday’s negative inflation shock in the US was followed by a surprise of a more positive variety as UK inflation came in flat and below expectations,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“This raises a prospect which would have felt unlikely a matter of weeks ago of the Bank of England cutting its own rates before the US, and the subsequent drop in the pound has helped the big multinational names in the FTSE 100. The relative value of their overseas earnings is boosted by weaker sterling.

“For global markets, the US reading is significant and suggests the battle against inflation is far from over.”

The lower-than-expected UK inflation reading helped support interest rate-sensitive sectors such as housebuilders and retailers.

Persimmon gained 4% as Taylor Wimpey ticked 2.6% higher. Ocado added 2% and Frasers Group was 2.3% higher.

Coca-Cola HBC was the top riser, gaining over 7%, after releasing bumper 2023 results. The company hiked its dividend by 19%.

United Utilities and Severn Trent released investors updates on Wednesday which were met with tepid market reactions. Given the cloudy environment for water companies after the sewage scandals, flat to minorly down share prices may have been the best investors could expect.

Coca-Cola HBC shares topped the FTSE 100 on Wednesday after the bottling group released a bumper full-year earnings report with highlights including organic EBIT growth of 10.7% and a 19% hike in the dividend.

Shares were over 7% higher at the time of writing.

Coca-Cola HBC delivered strong growth in 2023, with organic revenue up 16.9% to €10.2 billion. Volumes grew 1.7%, led by strategic categories like Sparkling, Energy and Coffee.

Revenue per case was up 15%, reflecting revenue growth initiatives. Reported revenue rose 10.7% but was impacted by FX headwinds in Emerging markets.

Comparable EBIT grew 17.7% to €1.08 billion, with margins up 50 bps to 10.6%. Gross margins improved 80 bps as cost pressures eased. Organic revenue and EBIT were up double-digits in all segments – Established, Developing and Emerging.

EPS grew 21.8% to €2.08, supported by profit delivery and lower finance costs. Free cash flow hit a record €711.8 million. Net debt was €1.6 billion and leverage was 1.1x EBITDA, reflecting a strong balance sheet.

The strong performance during the year culminated in higher shareholder payouts with a 19% increase in the dividend to €0.93 per share alongside the €400 million share buyback launched in November.

“2023 was another year of consistent execution of our growth strategy. We delivered volume growth, share gains, improved margins and record levels of free cash flow. As a result, we were able to increase shareholder returns, including the launch of a share buyback programme,” said Zoran Bogdanovic, Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola HBC AG.

“The power of our 24/7 portfolio, our diversified country footprint and our sustained investment in building bespoke capabilities, driven by data, insights and analytics, are foundations of compounding growth.

United Utilities confirmed its full-year earnings guidance in a trading statement issued on Wednesday that provided little in the way of new information to investors.

The company did note heavy rainfall would lead to lower Outcome Delivery Incentive (ODI) payments to the tune of around £25m, although this is not considered material to overall performance.

Early gains in United Utilities shares turned to losses as the session progressed with the stock down 0.9% at the time of writing.

The factors influencing United Utilities’ earnings, such as inflation and the weather, are largely out of their control, and investors will welcome guidance for the full year being maintained.

“United Utilities is handling the pressure of an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop well. Operations are in good shape with no updates to full-year guidance which calls for revenue to rise by around £150mn from a base of £1.8bn, largely driven by inflation-linked increases in the group’s revenue cap, as well as an uplift in consumer consumption levels,” said Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

United Utilities’ update was released amid pressures on the water industry following a series of sewage scandals, which could lead to potential fines for the companies involved. United Utilities, however, has a strong track record of high performance and favourable outcomes on the regulatory front.

“Over the last 10 years, United Utilities has stood out in the UK water utility market as a strong performer. Alongside Severn Trent, United Utilities has broadly delivered on its performance metrics targets that are set and enforced by Ofwat on a five-year basis, and as such, has been rewarded healthily in the form of straight cash through ODIs (outcome delivery incentives). United Utilities did, however, recently lose its 4* EPA rating but has completed 67% of its AMP7 environmental improvement program, and is currently on track to attain the highest 4-star rating in the Environment Agency’s Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA) for 2023. Today’s results reinforce this strong track record,” said Louis Knight, Analyst at Third Bridge.

United Utilities will release their full-year earnings on 16th May.