Weekly review

The FTSE 100 ended the week 168.5 points higher, closing at 7,155.64 on Friday.

Equity view

Cybersecurity firm Avast said it had withdrawn all its products from Russia and Belarus and suspended all marketing and sales operations in those countries with immediate effect. The company said it had staff in both Russia and Ukraine and was “actively working to protect and sustain them as a priority”.

Property developer The Berkeley Group said on Friday that it was on track to meet full-year earnings guidance after continuing to trade "robustly" since 1 November. Forward sales, representing cash due under-exchanged private sales, were expected to be above £1.70bn at year-end, flat year-on-year, whilst net cash was forecast to be around £900.0m, up from £846.0m, subject to the timing of certain land payments.

Endeavour Mining said it had sold its 90% interest in its non-core Karma mine in Burkina Faso to Néré Mining for up to $25m plus a 2.5% net smelter return royalty. Under the terms of the deal $10m was received prior to closing, in the form of a reimbursement of historical shareholder loans, a deferred cash payment of $5m will be paid in six months.

Real estate investment trust LXI REIT said on Friday that chairman Stephen Hubbard had stepped down from the board following a comprehensive handover. LXI REIT stated Cyrus Ardalan had assumed the role of chairman of the company, effective immediately, and also added that Hugh Seaborn had taken over from Colin Smith as senior independent director.

DS Smith said it was trading in line with expectations as higher volumes and price rises more than made up for increased costs. The packaging group said volume growth since the start of November was driven by demand from fast-moving consumer goods companies. The FTSE 100 group predicted like-for-like growth in mid-single digit percentages for the year ending in April.

Real estate advisor Savills reported record full-year results on Thursday following an "extraordinarily strong" trading recovery. In the year to the end of December 2021, underlying pre-tax profit rose 107% to £200.3m on revenue of £2.15bn, up 23% on the previous year. Reported pre-tax profit was 120% higher at £183.1m and reported basic earnings per share surged 114% to 104.9p.

Volution Group increased its dividend as the air conditioner maker reported a 15% rise in first-half profit boosted by higher prices. Adjusted operating profit rose to £31.9m in the six months to the end of January from £27.7m a year earlier as revenue increased 13.6% to £149.6m. Volution increased its interim dividend by 21% to 2.3p a share.

Construction and infrastructure materials supplier Hill & Smith reported a jump in full-year profit as the economy recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic and despite cost headwinds and labour shortages. The company on Thursday said pre-tax profit for the year to December 31 rose 43% to £50.9m as revenue increased to £705m from £660.5m in 2020. The full-year dividend was lifted 16% to 31p a share.

Russia-focussed mining outfit Petropavlovsk said on Wednesday that its operations were currently carrying on without interruption despite the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Petropavlovsk stated no members of the group had been named in sanctions against Russia announced by the United Kingdom, United States, European Union and other nations and said "appropriate systems and procedures" had been put in place to verify that it was not conducting restricted forms of business with any sanctioned parties.

Miner Evraz on Wednesday said it had not been affected by international sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. The Russian company added that it continued to support the demerger of its assets, consolidated under PJSC Raspadskaya.

Venture capital firm Molten Ventures said on Wednesday that following the closing of an externally led round in a portfolio company, the fair value of its holding had increased by £76.0m based on the value of the round. The FTSE 250-listed firm, which focuses on investing in and developing high-growth digital technology businesses, said the increase in fair value supported its previously announced year-end guidance of fair value growth in the region of 35%.

Mining company Anglo American said on Wednesday that the value of its rough diamond sales for De Beers' second sales cycle of 2022 had amounted to roughly $650.0m, down $10.0m on the first cycle of 2022 but up $100.0m year-on-year. Anglo American stated that owing to restrictions on the movement of people and products in various jurisdictions around the globe, De Beers Group had continued to implement "a more flexible approach" to rough diamond sales during the second sales cycle of 2022, with its sight event extended beyond its normal week-long duration.

Student accommodation provider Unite Group has disposed of a portfolio of 11 properties to an affiliate of Lone Star Funds for £306.0m. Unite said on Tuesday that the disposal portfolio included a total of 4,488 beds across Sheffield, Reading, Leicester, Bedford, Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, and Leeds.

Real estate investment trust British Land has sold a 50% stake in its Canada Water Masterplan to AustralianSuper for £290.0m, turning the project into a 50:50 joint venture as part of an effort to accelerate the delivery of the 53-acre development. British Land said on Tuesday that its "exciting new partnership" with Australian Super, an Australian profit-to-member pension fund with more than £140.0bn in assets under management, would combine funding from "a leading, international investor" with British Land's best in class operational platform.

Commercial property investment business CLS Holdings has unconditionally exchanged contracts to acquire a 23,982 square metre office building in Dortmund for €66.25m, excluding costs. CLS said on Tuesday that the property, located in the Dortmund CBD and within 800m of Central Station and the Stadtgarten underground, was already occupied by tenants - including one of Germany's leading financial institutions, a department of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and two smaller tenants - with an overall weighted average unexpired lease term of 5.2 years.

Domino's Pizza Group on Tuesday unveiled a £46m share buyback as it posted higher annual profit driven by a surge in post-lockdown sales. The chain, a franchise of US-based Domino's Pizza Inc, said underlying pre-tax profit rose to £113.9m from £101.2m a year earlier. On a statutory basis, profit more than doubled to £78.3m from £38.6m due to significantly reduced international losses.

Office space provider Workspace Group has disposed of Highway Business Park in Limehouse, East London, and an adjoining property owned by Canada Life Investments. Workspace said on Monday that the sale of Highway Business Park, made up of 20,000 square feet of light industrial space, will provide the group with £23.7m for its share, a "significant premium" to its 30 September 2021 valuation of £11.6m.

Anglo-Russian precious metals outfit Polymetal International announced a series of departures from its boardroom early on Monday as the company continues to struggle. Polymetal revealed that chairman Ian Cockerill will be stepping down from the board after almost three years in the job, with immediate effect, while non-executive directors Ollie Oliveira, Tracey Kerr, Italia Boninelli, Victor Flores, and Andrea Abt will also stand down from the firm's board.

Airtel Africa said its Kenya subsidiary has agreed settlements with the Communications Authority of Kenya over operating and spectrum licences, and received approval for the replacement of its temporary licence with a 10-year frequency licence for 2x10 MHz of spectrum in the 2100 MHz band. The company on Monday said it would pay $20m in four instalments over three years in respect of settlements regarding 2015-2025 operating and spectrum licences and $10m for a 10-year licence covering the 2x10 MHz licence.

Spectris has pulled its £1.7bn bid for Oxford Instruments, citing global market uncertainties caused by the “deplorable” events in Ukraine after the Russian invasion. “Since there is no certainty as to when the situation will be resolved, and market conditions will improve, the board has concluded that the proposed combination is no longer in shareholders' best interests at the current time,” the company said on Monday.

Economic news

Potential buyers of Chelsea Football Club have been told they can approach the government with proposals, after its operations were essentially put on ice by the sanctioning of oligarch owner Roman Abramovich. Westminster froze Abramovich’s assets on Thursday, meaning the club is not able to sell any more tickets, participate in player transfer deals, or run its merchandising operation.

The UK economy bounced back strongly in January after taking a hit from the Omicron variant and Plan B restrictions, but the outlook was less upbeat. According to data released on Friday by the Office for National Statistics, GDP grew 0.8% after contracting by 0.2% in December, coming in comfortably ahead of expectations of 0.1% growth.

UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak faces a choice between spending rises or allowing a massive slump in living standards as inflation, runaway energy prices and the war in Ukraine hit households, a respected think tank said on Thursday. Sunak, who is preparing his Spring financial statement for March 23, is under growing pressure to alleviate pressure on workers who also face a manifesto-busting tax rise next month.

The UK housing market remained buoyant in February, industry research showed on Thursday, despite rising interest rates and the growing cost of living crisis. According to the latest UK Residential Market Survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, a net balance of 17% of respondents said they had seen an increase in new buyer enquiries in February, the sixth consecutive month of increases.

Confidence in household finances has plummeted to a near-decade low, research showed on Wednesday, as the growing cost of living crisis weighed heavily. The latest YouGov/Cebr Consumer Confidence Index fell 2.4 points to 106.6 in February.

UK grocery sales stabilised last month, industry research showed on Tuesday, as the sector continued to rebound from the worst of the pandemic. According to the latest data from retail consultancy NielsenIQ, total till sales were down 3.4% in the four weeks to 26 February, only marginally weaker than January’s 2.9% decline.

UK retail sales continued to grow in February, industry research showed on Tuesday, as the easing of Covid-19 restrictions saw shoppers return to stores. However, growth was tempered by storms Dudley and Eunice as well as softening consumer confidence.

UK house prices have risen at their fastest rate since 2007, mortgage lender Halifax said on Monday. House prices rose 0.5% in February in month-on-month terms, bringing the average to £278,123 pounds, up 10.8% year on year.

International events

Consumer confidence in the US fell unexpectedly in early March amid concerns around inflation and the war in Ukraine, the results of a closely-followed survey revealed. The University of Michigan's gauge of consumer confidence slipped from a reading of 62.8 at the end of February to 59.7.

There were "certain positive shifts" in the talks that were undertaken the day before between Moscow and Kyiv, the Russian President said. In remarks made to Belarusian President, Alexander Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin reportedly said: "There are certain positive shifts, negotiators on our side tell me."

Oil price shocks historically have not derailed economies but in the case of Europe, this time the outcome will likely hinge on whether or not the European Union joins Washington's embargo on Russian oil, Berenberg said. In a research note sent to clients, Kallum Pickering, senior economist at Berenberg, pointed out that, with the exception of the 2008 financial crisis, GDP in advanced economies had tended to be higher one year after the peak in oil prices was reached.

The European Central Bank's key interest rates will be adjusted gradually when they begin to change, said ECB policymaker and Finnish central bank chief Olli Rehn. "Any adjustments to the key ECB interest rates will take place some time after the end of the APP net purchases and will be gradual," Rehn said in Helsinki, referring to the bank's bond-buying Asset Purchase Programme.

Moscow implemented an export ban overnight covering over 200 goods arguing that it was needed to "maintain stability on the Russian market". Nevertheless, sales of energy and materials, its largest hard currency earners, were spared.

European regulators launched an investigation into Google and Facebook on Friday, to find whether their advertising services violate EU competition rules. According to Reuters, the European Commission was looking into a 2018 deal between the two internet giants called ‘Jedi Blue’, and whether it unfairly restricted competition in the space and prevented others from effectively operating.

The cost of living in the US increased as expected last month, despite a surge in energy prices, but nevertheless climbed at their quickest pace for 40 years. And economists' forecasts appeared to be a bit mixed, although some were expecting consumer prices to start receding rapidly starting from April.

Goldman Sachs became the first major Wall Street bank to pull out of Russia on Thursday, in response to the country’s violent and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The bank said it was winding down its business in Russia, in accordance with the relevant regulatory and licensing rules. It came after Goldman disclosed a credit exposure to Russia of $650m (£495.06m).

The European Central Bank surprised financial markets, announcing a quicker wind down of its asset purchases, even as it described the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a watershed for Europe. In what appeared to be a shift towards a greater concern around the inflation outlook, the ECB pledged "to do whatever it took to fulfil the monetary authority's mandate for price stability and in order to safeguard financial stability."

Talks between Ukraine and Russia have failed to make progress, the Ukrainian foreign minister told reporters on Thursday. Dmytro Kuleba and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov had met in Turkey, the first high-level talks since Russia invaded its neighbour. A key focus had been on a potential 24-hour ceasefire to get aid to civilians, but Kuleba told reporters that no progress had been made.

The number of job openings in the US slipped at the start of 2022 as did the number of people voluntarily quitting their jobs. According to the US Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms, the number of job openings slipped from 11.49m in December to 11.26m for January.

Fitch Ratings has downgraded Russia after it warned that the country was close to defaulting on its debts. The ratings agency first cut Russia’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating to ‘B’ rating watch negative at the start of the month.