Wizz Air sees decent rise in booked passengers, Intertek cautions over coronavirus

Stocks to watch

Low cost carrier Wizz Air reported a 25.6% year-on-year rise in February booked passengers despite a slight fall in load factor and capacity due to the coronavirus. The Eastern Europe specialist said 3.01m passengers booked flights compared with 2.4m in 2019. The load factor fell 0.4 percentage points to 93.8%.

Ashtead reported a 13% improvement in revenue in the first three quarters on Tuesday, to £3.93bn, as its rental revenue rose 12% to £3.57bn. The FTSE 100 industrial equipment rental company said its operating profit improved to £1.07bn from £963m for the nine months ended 31 January, as its pre-tax profit increased to £947m from £888m, Its earnings per share were up 11% to 154.3p.

Intertek posted a 5.2% increase in annual operating profit but said its performance in 2020 would be affected by the coronavirus outbreak's effect on supply chains and global trade. Adjusted operating profit for the year to 3 March at constant currency rose to £513.3m from £481.8m as revenue increased 4.8% to £2.99bn. Based on actual currency rates operating profit rose 6.5% and revenue increased 6.6%. Reported pretax profit rose to £445.1m from £404.5m. The FTSE 100 product testing company said before the coronavirus outbreak it was expecting a continuation of the trends in 2019 but that it would be affected by disruption to clients' supply chains in China and to global trade. The company said it was too early to quantify the impact on its business.

Newspaper round-up

Rishi Sunak has been forced to redraw next week’s budget to focus on shoring up the economy against the impact of coronavirus. After Sajid Javid’s abrupt resignation from the Treasury last month, Sunak’s first major statement was due to herald a radical departure from the cautious Conservative economic policies of the past decade. But a No 10 source said the budget would now “prioritise economic security” in the face of the growing threat from the virus. – Guardian

British supermarkets have drawn up “feed the nation” contingency plans that would help the country cope with any panic-buying brought on by a sudden escalation of the coronavirus outbreak. Under the plans, supermarkets would work with suppliers to scale back the variety of foods and groceries available, and instead focus on maintaining supplies of staple products. – Guardian

Hundreds of final salary pension schemes could face closure due to a change in the rules around how fast businesses must pump in funds which could cost up to £5bn. Companies face a tweak to the code of practice which governs so-called defined benefit schemes as part of a consultation unveiled by The Pensions Regulator (TPR). The proposed rules could mean businesses having to find an extra £5bn to support the schemes according to former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb, who is now a partner at actuary LCP. – Telegraph

One of Sirius Minerals’ largest investors is reluctantly backing a takeover by Anglo American today as it attempts to prevent the fertiliser mine developer from plunging into administration. Jupiter Asset Management, which controls about 8 per cent of Sirius shares, is expected to vote in favour of the 5.5p-a-share takeover at a meeting in London this morning, despite having previously urged the company to explore alternatives. – The Times

Administrators investigating Asset Life, the collapsed minibond company, have found fresh links with the London Capital & Finance scandal. Asset Life held shares in Prime Resort Development, a company with property interests in Cornwall and the Caribbean that is embroiled with London Capital & Finance. The discovery of the stake deepens the web of relationships between the two minibond sellers. – The Times

US close

US stocks recorded some solid gains on Monday as major indices attempted to reclaim some of their recent losses, with expectations that the Federal Reserve will again cut rates driving the rally.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 5.09% at 26,703.32, while the S&P 500 was 4.60% firmer at 3,090.23 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 4.49% stronger at 8,952.16.

The Dow Jones closed 1,293.96 points higher on Monday as indices attempted to recover some of the losses seen in what was the worst week on the Street since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite all entered correction territory last week, down more than 10% from the all-time highs notched earlier in February.

Last week's losses were fuelled by a sharp increase in cases of the Wuhan coronavirus outside of China and as of Sunday, over 85,000 cases of the virus had been confirmed across the globe, along with more than 2,900 related deaths. Australia, Thailand and the US reported their first coronavirus-related casualties over the weekend.

Weighing on sentiment at the open was a survey on Chinese manufacturing activity. The Caixin Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 40.3 for February - far below expectations of a reading of 45.7 and its weakest level ever.

However, sentiment was given a boost after the bell as many analysts said they now expect that the Federal Reserve will lower its Fed funds rate target by 25 basis points to 1.25%-1.5% at its scheduled March 17-18 meeting as a result of the coronavirus-related sharp correction in the stock market.