CMC Markets reports strong Q4 trading, Johnson Matthey FY earnings seen in line

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was being called to open 62.2 points higher ahead of the bell on Friday after closing 0.47% lower in the previous session at 7,551.81.

Stocks to watch

Financial services company CMC Markets said on Friday that the fourth quarter of its recently wrapped up trading year had been its strongest, leaving full-year net operating income at the top end of guidance.

CMC Markets stated annual net operating income was predicted to be approximately £280.0m, a record performance outside of the Covid-19 pandemic period, but did also warn that gross leveraged client income was pegged to have fallen from £335.0m to £288.0m, while leveraged and non-leveraged trading revenues were expected to have slipped 34% and 12% year-on-year, respectively.

Sustainable technology company Johnson Matthey said on Friday that annual results were expected to be in line with market expectations, but warned of continued supply chain disruption for its automotive customers and increased cost inflation.

In a trading update, Johnson Matthey said growth had been driven by improved performance in its clean air division, where it saw increased activity in autos as end markets partially recovered.

Newspaper round-up

The Dubai-based owner of P&O Ferries has lost its status as a formal partner in one of the government's biggest freeport projects, after widespread public anger over the firing without notice of 800 workers last month. Ministers have confirmed that DP World, the Emirati logistics giant behind P&O, no longer had a central role as a "partner" in the Solent freeport after the resignation of its UK commercial director from the scheme's board last week. - Guardian

Rio Tinto has taken full control of an alumina refinery in which oligarchs Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg hold stakes after the Australian government slapped sanctions on the pair and banned the export of bauxite products to Russia. The oligarchs have an interest in Queensland Alumina Limited through shareholdings in En+ Group, a London-listed resources company which owns the second-largest aluminium producer in the world, Rusal. - Guardian

Cheaper electricity will encourage households to charge their cars overnight and use their washing machines outside peak periods under plans to keep bills down during the drive for net-zero. Ministers hope “time-of-use” tariffs enabling people to pay less for electricity when demand is low will be more widely adopted as part of a major overhaul of the energy system in coming years. - Telegraph

The boss of Boohoo has insisted that its new "model factory" will be a profitable production site rather than just a showroom as Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis clothes are being made in the UK again after moving offshore almost three decades ago. Boohoo opened its first factory in Leicester in January, two years after the online retailer was engulfed in a scandal about the poor treatment of workers in the city's factories. The multimillion-pound site, a former VW garage on Thurmaston Lane, has been designed to show "best in class" standards, including training schemes for workers, who are paid above the minimum wage and are entitled to the same holidays and benefits as other Boohoo staff. - The Times

A British online car retailer has fallen deeper into the red after investing heavily in expansion and counting the cost of its stock market listing in New York last summer. Cazoo unveiled a sharp rise in annual revenues yesterday as it drove further into Europe's second-hand market, but it said that its pre-tax losses had widened to £549.0m last year from £100.0m in 2020. - The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks reversed earlier losses to finish higher on Thursday after investors mulled over minutes from the Fed's latest meeting and some data that pointed to a tighter-than-expected jobs market.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.25% at 34,583.57, while the S&P 500 added 0.43% to 4,500.21 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.06% stronger at 13,897.30.