Weekly review
The FTSE 100 ended the week 131.05 points higher, as it closed at 6,761.47 on Friday.
Equity view
JD Sports Fashion made its first foray into central and eastern Europe after buying a 60% stake in Poland’s Marketing Investment Group (MIG).
Bodycote’s revenues fell 16.9% in 2020 to £598m, it said on Friday, as its organic revenues declined 20%.
Hammerson's annual loss more than doubled as the value of its properties dropped and rental income plunged during the Covid-19 crisis.
Hollywood Bowl said on Friday that it has raised around £30m in a placing to accelerate its expansion plans.
Spirent Communications reported a rise in full-year profit on Thursday and declared a special dividend despite "a challenging environment" due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rail and coach ticket-selling platform Trainline reported a plunge in annual revenues as Covid lockdowns restricted travel, but said it had reduced monthly cash burn.
WPP said it would buy back up to £300m of shares as the advertising group reported an annual loss caused by the Covid-19 crisis.
Landscape products company Marshalls reported a decline in full-year profit and revenue on Thursday as it took a hit from the Covid-19 pandemic, but lifted its expectations for 2021 following a strong start to trading.
Just Eat Takeaway.com said it would keep up its investment drive as the food delivery company reported surging sales and a wider annual loss.
Spirax-Sarco Engineering reported a better-than-expected full-year profit on Wednesday, while revenues were in line after a stronger-than-anticipated fourth quarter.
Record demand for logistics space saw earnings per share at Tritax Big Box improve by 8% to 7.17p in 2020, it announced on Wednesday.
Balfour Beatty increased the size of its share buyback as the construction group reported a sharp drop in annual profit.
Asset manager Standard Life Aberdeen reported a 16.6% fall in annual profits as it declared a dividend and started to focus on client-led growth out of the Covid crisis.
Pizza chain Domino's unveiled a £45m share buyback and rise in annual profit as it announced plans to open another 200 stores.
Serviced offices provider IWG said on Tuesday that it would be forced to shutter more underperforming locations as a result of the market recovery from the coronavirus pandemic was taking longer than anticipated.
Defence contractor Ultra Electronics reported a jump in full-year profit and revenue on Tuesday as it won a number of new contracts.
Direct Line increased its dividend and announced a £100m share buyback as the insurer reported a 4.5% drop in annual profit.
Micro Focus said on Monday that it plans to appeal after a jury ruled in favour of US-based Wapp in a patent litigation case, awarding the claimant damages of up to $172.5m.
Phoenix posted record annual cash generation and an increased dividend as it unveiled new cash targets.
Clarkson reported a “robust” underlying financial performance ahead of market expectations in its preliminary results on Monday, as its revenue fell to £358m in 2020, from £363m in the prior year.
Economic news
Britain’s economy contracted by a less-than-expected 2.9% in January as the third national lockdown came into force, official data revealed on Friday, while exports to the EU plunged 40.7% in the first month after the Brexit deal was signed.
The UK's exports to the EU plunged more than 40% in January as Brexit took its toll on Britain's trade with its European neighbours, official figures showed.
The Covid-19 strain first detected in the UK is anywhere between 30% to 100% more deadly than the previous ones, a study found.
The prime minister has backed cutting air passenger duty on domestic flights, following the publication of an interim review into transport between the UK nations.
An auction of 10-year inflation-linked Gilts drew a record amount of bids.
The UK housing market strengthened in February, research published on Thursday showed, ahead of the chancellor’s decision to extend the stamp duty holiday.
Consumer spending fell 13.8% year-on-year in February, according to data from Barclaycard, although some sectors saw record growth as coronavirus lockdowns continued to influence spending habits.
The National Federation of Independent Business' small business optimism index rose by 0.8 points in February to 95.8 but again failed to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Footfall across the UK fell last week for the first in seven weeks, according to data released on Monday by retail analysts Springboard.
UK retail sales ticked higher in February, industry research showed on Tuesday, as the roadmap out of lockdown helped support spending.
International events
Eurozone industrial production rose faster than expected in January led by France and Italy, suggesting manufacturing will have another solid quarter.
US consumer sentiment improved by more than expected at the start of the month, led by improved expectations, the results of a very closely-followed survey revealed.
The Covid-19 pandemic has cost 5.7m citizens of the European Union their jobs as of December 2020, revealed the latest report by Eurofund.
Unemployment claims in the US continued falling at a steady pace over the latest week.
Europe is focusing on acquiring tech sovereignty in a move to be less reliant on foreign powers and have more leverage in future negotiations.
Factory gate prices in China have risen to their highest level since November 2018, official data showed overnight on Wednesday.
The OECD has strengthened its growth forecasts for the global economy, citing the ongoing success of the vaccine rollout and the US’s mammoth stimulus package.
The European Parliament voted in favour of rescinding immunity for Catalonia’s former regional leader Carles Puigdemont and two other Catalan lawmakers.
German industrial production unexpectedly fell in January, according to figures released on Monday by Destatis.
Two-thirds of the world's rainforests have been degraded or destroyed by humans, revealed the latest report by Rainforest Foundation Norway.