After a strong recovery overnight in US markets, with the S&P500 gaining 4.6% and the Dow Jones index gaining 5%, European markets posted increases of 2% or more in early trading on Tuesday.

The FTSE 100 rallied 1% to 6,728 with every sector registering gains although notably defensive areas such as Tobacco and Utilities were still among the best performers suggesting investors are hedging their bets.

Equipment-rental firm Ashtead (AHT) delivered a strong nine-month trading update with revenues up 13% to £3.93bn and operating profits up 6% to £1.07bn as it continued to grow its market share in the North American market.

In contrast the UK market remained 'challenging' and A-Plant only managed to grow its top line by 1% thanks to sales of used equipment. Shares edged up 0.2% to £24.12.

Flow-control manufacturer Rotork (ROR) gained 3.2% to 289p despite reporting a drop in revenues for the year ended in December as its customers scaled back on large projects and it lost orders to sanctioned countries.

According to chief executive Kevin Hostetler 'the year was about margin improvement, cash generation and laying the foundations for sales acceleration.' However its expectation of 'modest sales growth' this year is now in question due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Food-on-the-go retailer Greggs (GRG) served up another year of 'exceptional' growth with sales for the year ended in December up 13.5% to £1.17bn and pre-tax profits before exceptional items up 27% to £114.2m.

However weaker sales in February due to stormy weather took some of the shine off the results, leaving the shares trading sideways at £20.79.

Thanks to strong cash flow generation the dividend has been rasied by 25% to 44.9p and the company hinted that it would 'consider' paying special a dividend to coincide with its 2020 interim results.

Precious metals miner Fresnillo (FRES) disappointed with production figures below company estimates for the year ended in December sending shares down 4.2% to 594p.

Silver production fell 11.6% due to lower ore grades while gold production was down due to a combination of lower output and lower grades, leading to a 40% drop in gross profits and a 26% drop in operating profits.

Builders' merchant Travis Perkins (TPK) reported 'positive trading' for the year to December with revenues up 3.2% to £6.96bn and adjusted operating profits up 7.8% to £442m.

Once again Toolstation delivered excellent growth despite 'challenging' market conditions and the recovery at Wickes continued ahead of the spin-off of the business in the second quarter. Shares added 3.4% to £14.94.

Recruitment firm Robert Walters (RWA) announced a small increase in net fee income for the year ended in December against a background of 'global turbulence'.

All regions outside the UK produced higher net fees and operating profits with Europe delivering an 8% increase in fees and Asia a 7% increase. Encouragingly the Australian market turned up finally.

However comments that the coronavirus would 'negatively impact full year profit expectations' sent investors rushing for cover, sending the shares down 7.8% to 488p.

Testing and certification firm Intertek (ITRK) delivered a fifth consecutive year of revenue and earnings growth thanks to organic growth, acquisitions and a positive currency effect.

Turnover for the year to December rose 6.6% to £2.987bn with half of the increase due to organic growth and a quarter of the increase due to favourable exchange rates.

However the firm cautioned that given its exposure to global trade and companies with supply chains in China it had little visibility of the potential impact of the coronavirus on its business going forward. Shares slipped 0.4% to £53.02.

Among smaller companies, direct carrier billing company Boku (BOKU:AIM) leapt 12.8% to 66p after it reported strong growth in the first two months of the year with payment volumes up 30% to $966m, ahead of the company's forecasts.

The number of monthly active users also grew rapidly, up 36% year on year in February to 18.2m.

FOR A LIST OF FTSE GAINERS AND LOSERS SEE HERE

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Issue Date: 03 Mar 2020