ITV reports lower profits, Taylor Wimpey warns of lower completions

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open six points lower on Thursday, having closed up 0.49% on Wednesday at 7,914.93.

Stocks to watch

ITV reported lower annual profits on Thursday due to tougher economic conditions and the investment made in its ITVX streaming service. Adjusted operating profit fell 12% to £717m, while total revenue grew 7% to £4.3bn.

Taylor Wimpey warned on Thursday completions were likely to fall this year, the latest housebuilder to see higher mortgage rates and the cost of living crisis knock buyer confidence. The blue chip said revenues for the year to 31 December had jumped 3%, to £4.42bn, while operating profits rose 11% to £923.4m. Pre-tax profits jumped 22% to £827.9m.

Wizz Air reported a surge in February passenger numbers as travel continued to rebound from the Covid pandemic and associated restrictions. The Hungary-based low-cost airline carried 3,786,739 passengers, representing a 97.1% increase compared to February 2022, at a load factor of 93.3%.

Newspaper round-up

Britain’s failed attempt to send satellites into orbit was a “disaster” and MPs are being urged to redirect funding to hospitals, with the country now seen as “toxic” for future launches. Senior figures at the Welsh company Space Forge, which lost a satellite when Virgin Orbit’s Start Me Up mission failed to reach orbit, said a “seismic change” was needed for the UK to be appealing for space missions. – Guardian

London is falling behind other international capitals as “superstar” businesses are strangled by red tape and years of underinvestment, a think-tank has warned. The Centre for Cities also blamed soaring house prices for a dismal rise in living standards that meant London's annual productivity rose by an average of just 0.2pc between 2007 and 2019. – Telegraph

British technology giant Arm will spurn advances from Rishi Sunak to float in London and instead opt for New York, in a blow to the Prime Minister’s attempt to convince high-tech companies to go public in Britain. The company, which is owned by the Japanese multinational SoftBank, will list its shares in the US when it floats later this year, according to reports last night. – Telegraph

LVMH has strengthened its footing as the most valuable company in Europe after a €1.5 billion buyback winched up shares in the luxury conglomerate. Shares in the retail group, led by the French billionaire Bernard Arnault, rose by 0.4 per cent to €792.20 yesterday, giving the company a market valuation of €397 billion. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks delivered a mixed performance on Wednesday as March trading kicked off in much the same way as February wrapped up.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.02% at 32,661.84, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.47% to 3,951.39 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.66% weaker at 11,379.48.

The Dow closed 5.14 points lower on Wednesday, narrowly avoiding extending losses recorded in the previous session as investors digested a number of macro points.

Stronger-than-expected data out of China boosted sentiment prior to the open, with the nation's National Bureau of Statistics revealing that its manufacturing PMI rose to 52.6 last month, but stateside data after the opening bell saw major averages take a turn for the worse.

On the macro front, US mortgage applications fell 5.7% in the week ended 24 February for a third consecutive decline and almost 28-year low. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, applications to refinance a home loan dropped 5.5% and applications to purchase a home loan declined 5.6%.