BP's strong quarter, Ocado loss grows

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to climb 28 points on Tuesday after finishing at 7,034.13 the day before.

Stocks to watch

Oil giant BP posted a jump in fourth-quarter and full-year profit on Tuesday thanks to a strong performance across all of its businesses. Underlying replacement cost profit for the final three months of 2018 came in at $3.5bn, up from $2.1bn in the same period the year before. For the year, meanwhile, underlying replacement cost profit rose to $12.7bn, which was more than double what was reported for 2017.

Ocado losses swelled last year but the online grocery specialist was able to focus on more significant developments abroad as its partners began work on major new delivery warehouses. The FTSE 100 group loss before tax of £44.4m was down from the prior year's £9.8m as investment was poured into the business, as revenue from its several major new clients will only be recognised when their first delivery warehouses open.

Sales and support services group DCC said it expected full year operating profit to be “significantly ahead” of the prior year and in line with consensus after a solid third quarter.

Newspaper round-up

Europe’s top official offered Britain a legal guarantee that it would not be trapped by the Irish backstop last night but was immediately rebuffed by Brexiteer MPs. Martin Selmayr, the European Union’s most senior civil servant, spent 90 minutes with members of the Brexit select committee, who emerged saying that he was prepared to make significant concessions on Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement. - The Times

Experts have warned that a new EU-Japan trade deal could pose a post-Brexit threat to British industry in the wake of Nissan’s decision to backtrack on expanding its Sunderland plant. The world’s biggest free trade deal came into force on 1 February and there are fears that Japan will stop using the UK as a manufacturing base, especially with a 0% tariff on car imports built into the EU-Japan agreement. - Guardian

There continue to be record levels of construction activity in Britain’s biggest regional cities, despite the uncertainty caused by Brexit. There was a sustained or increased level of development last year in offices, homes, hotels and student housing in Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, according to Deloitte. - The Times

US close

US stocks started the trading week on a positive note on Monday as tech stocks turned in a decent rally during the session.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.70% at 25,239.37, while the S&P 500 picked up 0.68% to 2,724.87 and the Nasdaq moved 1.15% firmer to 7,347.57.

The Dow closed near its session high as trade relations between the US and China remained in focus after Donald Trump said, in an interview with CBS, that he sees a "good chance" of reaching a trade deal with China and making progress with North Korea on nuclear disarmament.