WPP profits lift 26pc, AstraZeneca teams up with Sanofi on virus antibody

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 21 points lower on Friday, after closing down 0.01% at 7,382.35 on Thursday.

Stocks to watch

The weak pound and acquisitions helped advertising giant WPP lift reported full year pre-tax profits by 26% to £1.8bn. Billings were up 16% to £55.2bn and revenues 17.6% to £14.3bn. WPP said all its trading regions reported like-for-like revenue growth, led by Western Continental Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa & the Middle East and Central & Eastern Europe. It added that January 2017 like-for-like revenue was up 1.5%, ahead of budget, with like-for-like net sales, up 1.2%, ahead of budget and against a stronger comparative last year.

London Stock Exchange Group tried to ignore the merger-shaped elephant in the room as it reported strong sales and profits growth and hiked its dividend 20% to reassure investors of its confident outlook. Despite last month admitting it was pretty sure the proposed merger with Deutsche Börse would be blocked by regulators due to competition concerns, the company said it "continues to work hard" on the deal ahead of the conclusion of the European Commission investigation due on 3 April.

AstraZeneca has partnered with French pharmaceutical Sanofi to develop and commercialise a respiratory syncytial virus antibody. The FTSE 100 company's biologics research and development arm MedImmune and Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, have agreed to develop and commercialise MEDI8897, a monoclonal antibody for the prevention of lower respiratory tract illness caused by respiratory syncytial virus, the most prevalent cause of the illness among young children.

Electra Private Equity’s portfolio manager Epiris announced on Friday that its portfolio company AXIO Group had agreed to sell RISI, the information provider for the global forest products industry, to Euromoney Institutional Investor for $125m. Based on current exchange rates, Electra would receive proceeds from AXIO of £66m - an uplift of £21m or 46% and equivalent to an increase in its net asset value of 45p per share on the valuation of Electra's investment at 30 September 2016.

Newspaper round-up

Plunging out of the European Union in two years without a new trade deal would open up a Pandora’s box for Britain’s businesses, Paul Drechsler, the president of CBI, has warned. As Theresa May prepares to trigger the formal talks process for leaving the EU, Drechsler used a speech at Mansion House in the City of London on Thursday night to warn that the two-year article 50 process would be a “roller-coaster” for businesses trying to plan for the future. – Guardian

Britain’s financial watchdog has admitted that only one in five potential complaints about mis-sold payment protection insurance had been made so far, as it set a final deadline of August 2019 for filing claims. The cut-off of 29 August 2019 provoked an outcry from consumer groups, but will be welcome news for UK banks, which have set aside more than £40bn to cover compensation payments and other costs relating to Britain’s biggest mis-selling scandal . – Guardian

lencore paid at least $100m (£81m) to controversial Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler over the course of four years, it has emerged, in the latest revelations surrounding its activities in the Congo. The FTSE 100 giant handed over royalties and other payments to a company owned by the mining magnate between 2013 and 2016 to satisfy a contractual obligation with its partners. – Telegraph

The government’s industrial strategy lacks cohesion and ambition and does not constitute a strategy, a powerful committee of MPs has concluded. The withering commentary on the government’s green paper published in January was delivered by the business, energy and industrial strategy select committee. Business bodies lined up to back the MPs’ criticism. – The Times

The main City regulator has been accused of caving into the banks after agreeing to set a deadline for complaints about mis-sold payment protection insurance. Consumer champions said that the Financial Conduct Authority was putting the interests of the finance industry ahead of consumers after it announced a deadline of August 29, 2019. – The Times

US close

After their record-breaking run on Wednesday, markets on Wall Street all finished lower on Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.53% lower at 21,002.97, the S&P 500 lost 0.59% to 2,381.92, and the Nasdaq 100 was off 0.51% at 5,363.26.