The FTSE 100 opened higher on Wednesday morning as investors expect US interest rates will remain on hold when the Federal Reserve meets later today.
Unlike the hotly anticipated Bank of England meeting tomorrow, today’s Fed meeting is expected to be a quiet affair with a strong likelihood of no change in its policy.
Shortly after the market open, the UK’s benchmark index was up 21.66 points, or 0.29%, to 7,507.55.
In company news, builders merchant Travis Perkins (TPK) rose 2.7% to £16.13 following a strong fourth quarter performance from its Wickes business, which it plans to list as a separate entity in Q2 this year.
Like-for-like sales at Wickes grew 4.5% in the fourth quarter and 8.7% over 2019, and Wickes CEO David Wood said the performance is ‘setting us up well for the intended demerger from Travis Perkins’.
He added, ‘We have great confidence in our strategy, which is centred around our strong brand, a distinctive and hard to replicate customer proposition, a uniquely balanced business and a low cost and efficient operating model.’
Low cost airline Wizz Air (WIZZ) dipped 1% to £40.71 despite raising net profit guidance to a range between €350-355m for the full year.
Wizz said current trading conditions are ‘favourable’ thanks to a ‘relatively benign competitive environment, stable fuel prices and a positive yield environment’.
It also reported 24.6% rise in revenue to €637.3m in its third quarter results, and swinging to a net profit for the period of €21.4m, compared to a €21m loss in the same quarter last year.
Investors have continued selling popular anti-virus software company Avast (AVST), with its shares plunging 8.5% to 440p today after a big drop yesterday, following reports the firm has been selling user data, including specific web browser history, to major companies around the world.
Using a subsidiary called Jumpshot, Avast reportedly sold user data to companies including Google, Microsoft, Pepsi, Conde Nast and TripAdvisor.
Mexican miner Fresnillo (FRES) gained 0.6% to 616p after reporting higher silver and gold production in the fourth quarter as it performance improvement plan began to show results.
Quarterly gold production of 233.7koz increased 11.4% compared to the third quarter, mainly driven by a higher volume of ore processed, ore grade and overall rate of recovery at its Herradura mine.
While its silver production of 13.8 moz was up 3.7%, driven by higher ore grades at both its San Julián and Saucito mines.
Fellow miner Anglo American (AAL) gained 0.66% to £20.66 as it said the value of rough diamond sales at its De Beers unit had increased during the first cycle of 2020 to $545m from $500m seen in the same cycle a year earlier.
‘Demand for rough diamonds increased during the first sight of 2020 following the end of year selling season and subsequent inventory restocking,’ said Bruce Cleaver, chief executive at De Beers.
Telecom giant Vodafone (VOD) moved 0.38% higher to 157p after it signed a non-binding agreement over potential sale of its 55% shareholding in Egyptian assets to Saudi Telecom Company for $2.39bn.
The sale price would represent an enterprise value, which includes debt, of $4.35bn, implying a multiple of seven times adjusted Ebitda.
Vodafone said it would continue to have a significant presence in Egypt through its shared services centres, recently rebranded as Vodafone Intelligent Solutions.
Water utility United Utilities (UU.) increased 0.75% to £10.07 after it said it would now pay its dividends based on the UK consumer price index after it agreed to a new framework set by national regulator Ofwat.
The company currently bases its payout on the retail price index growth rate, which was typically higher than the consumer price index (CPIH).
In line with its existing policy, United Utilities said its dividend for the 2020 financial year was expected to be 42.6p.
However, for the upcoming AMP7 regulatory period, the dividend would be linked to CPIH growth through to the 2025 financial year.
Oil and gas explorer Energean Oil & Gas (ENOG) fell 0.7% to 817p after it said it expected revenue to fall despite an increase in annual output.
Full-year revenue was expected to be approximately $76m in 2019, down from $90.3m last year. Working interest reserves and resources were expected to rise 38% to 554m barrels of oil equivalent (boe), driven primarily by the 190m boe Karish north discovery.
