Weekly review

The FTSE 100 ended the week up 148.34 points to 6,096.01.

Equity view

Additional gambling duties imposed by HM Government were a sore point for William Hill's earnings in the 52 weeks to 29 December, though the company was confident it could grow out of the rut.

Sports Direct International said on Friday that it will no longer draw down from a £250m loan facility with founder Mike Ashley/Mash holdings following criticism over related party transactions.

Berendsen said 2015 pre-tax profit and revenue dropped on the back of adverse currency movements, as the pound strengthened against the currencies in which the group operates in Continental Europe

Fresnillo announced the promotion of a board member on Friday, saying Charles Jacobs would become a senior independent director.

RBS has confirmed it made a £1.98bn loss for 2015, down from a £3.47bn loss the previous year The FTSE 100 bank, which warned investors in January it would make a loss, said litigation and conduct costs increased 62% to £3.57bn.

A 14% growth in passenger revenue saw International Consolidated Airlines Group’s operating profit before exceptional items jump 68%.

HICL Infrastructure Company confirmed its dividend targets for the current and next financial years as it noted the continuing imbalance between weak supply and high demand for new infrastructure investments.

Robustness was a key theme in the annual financials for Lloyds Banking Group on Thursday, with the company reporting rises in income and underlying earnings for the 2015 calendar year, though statutory profit fell.

BT Group may still be forced spin off its Openreach infrastructure arm, regulator Ofcom said, unless it effectively opens up the network to rivals and implements major reforms.

RSA Insurance Group's restructure and turnaround paid off in 2015, with the firm reporting significant increases in income and earnings for the calendar year in its preliminary results on Thursday.

Barratt Developments hiked its dividend by a quarter after the housebuilder's profits mushroomed in the first half of the year. The FTSE 100 construction group generated £295m pre-tax profit in the six months to the calendar year end, an increase of 40.3% on revenues that rose 19% to £1.88bn.

Unprecedented market challenges saw revenue and earnings take a tumble at Weir Group in the year to 1 January. The FTSE 250 engineering group, which published its annual results on Wednesday, saw revenue slide 21% on a reported basis to £1.92bn, from £2.44bn. On a constant currency basis, revenue was down 22%.

Man Group revealed lower earnings in its full year trading financials published on Wednesday. Funds under management at the FTSE 250 firm grew 8% to $78.7bn (£56.18bn) during the calendar year, up from $72.9bn in 2014.

After absorbing a half-year loss of $5.67bn, BHP Billiton sliced its dividend deeper than most analysts predicted and adopted a new more cautious payout policy as it hunkered down for what it believes will be a prolonged period of low and volatile commodity markets.

Persimmon has increased its full year underlying profit before tax by 34% to £637.8m. The FTSE 100 housebuilder said on Tuesday revenue for the year to 31 December 2015 had also risen 13% to £2.9bn.

Oil services firm Wood Group reported a drop in earnings for 2015 amid significantly reduced customer activity, as weak oil prices took their toll. For the year ended 31 December, earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation fell 14.5% to $469.7m (£333m), which was in line with the company's guidance.

HSBC has missed full year profit consensus forecasts by 8%, as it missed fourth quarter targets by a long way. The FTSE 100 bank posted a reported profit before tax of $18.9bn (£13.3bn) for the year to 31 December 2015, up a mere 1.069% from $18.7bn in 2014.

Bovis Homes reported a jump in full year pre-tax profit and revenue as legal completions and prices rose and the housebuilder sounded an upbeat note on 2016. For the year ended 31 December, pre-tax profit came in at £160.1m up from £133.5m in 2014, on revenue of £946.5m, up 17%.

Associated British Foods was banking on a decline in the pound on Monday, as it prepared the market for a dip in earnings in the current first half. The company's board said it expected some progress in adjusted operating profit for the group in the current period, though adjusted earnings per share were expected to be slightly lower.

Economic news

UK consumer confidence fell in February to its lowest level since December 2014 amid concerns over the economic outlook, a GfK survey revealed on Friday. The index measuring sentiment fell to 0 in February from 4 in January, missing analysts’ estimates of 3.

UK house prices continued to surge in January as buy-to-let and second home purchasers rushed in ahead of the government’s new stamp duty charges. The Land Registry said house prices in England and Wales rose 2.5% in January compared to the previous month, pushing the year-on-year gain to a 14-month high of 7.1% growth.

UK gross domestic product in the fourth quarter of 2015 remained in line with forecasts, rising 05% on the previous quarter and 19% year-on-year.

A majority of Britons want to remain in the European Union, according to the latest poll. According to a ComRes poll for the Daily Mail, 51% of those canvassed said they wanted to remain in the EU, while 39% said they would vote to 'leave'.

London Mayor Boris Johnson´s support for the 'Leave' campaign in the upcoming referendum on whether to abandon the European Union sent the pound plunging on Monday.

Britain voting to leave the European Union will weigh on confidence, delay investment decisions and possibly lead to a negative outlook for government debt, credit agencies Fitch and Moody's warned.

Bank of England chief Mark Carney on Tuesday said the MPC had no intention to impose negative interest rates on banks and revealed that a special unit had been formed to investigate the potential fall-out from 'Brexit'.

International events

China’s central bank on Friday hinted at further stimulus measures to boost the flagging economy. People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said there were more tools in the central bank’s policy to help turnaround the slowdown.

Data released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed US personal spending rose 05% in January, beating economists’ expectations for a 03% increase.

The University of Michigan's final US consumer sentiment index for February rose to 91.7 from a preliminary reading of 90.7.

The second estimate of US economic growth in the fourth quarter was unexpectedly revised higher, the Commerce Department revealed on Friday

Inflation in Japan fell back at the start of the year; although a leading indicator of nationwide price pressures did so by less than was expected.

US durable goods orders bounced back in January but an underlying proxy for trends in investment in the wider economy was still well in the red

Economic sentiment t in the Eurozone deteriorated more than in expected in February, according to data from the European Commission.

Eurostat’s final reading on Eurozone inflation for January has come in a little softer than originally estimated and still way off the European Central Bank’s target of just under 2%, adding weight to the argument for further stimulus.

Fitch Ratings has lowered oil price assumptions it uses to rate energy companies, reflecting its view that prices were “increasingly unlikely” to recover this year. US oil inventories registered another sharp increase in the latest week, but accompanied by equally large drawdowns in those for oil-products

US crude inventory rose by 3.5 million barrels last week, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration, adding to concerns about an oversupply in the sector.