Stock markets were trading firm early Thursday, as the US president led a summit of Western nations opposing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while investors in London also digested a string of company results and broker recommendations.
US President Joe Biden is meeting NATO and EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday in a show of trans-Atlantic unity exactly one month after the start of Russia's war in Ukraine.
Biden joins Western allies for a special meeting of NATO leaders, a G7 summit and an EU leaders' summit for talks on how to support the Ukrainian people, how to further punish Russia and the long-term changes necessary to ensure Europe's security.
A proposal to strengthen NATO's eastern flank with permanent troop deployments, supported by air and naval power, is still on the table. The move would mark a violation of the NATO-Russia Founding Act, and would likely escalate tensions with Russia.
The FTSE 100 index was up 17.90 points, or 0.2%, at 7,478.53 early Thursday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was down 51.53 points, or 0.3%, at 20,948.08. The AIM All-Share index was up 0.66 of a point at 1,037.50.
The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.2% at 743.58. The Cboe 250 was flat at 18,518.65, and the Cboe Small Companies up 0.1% at 15,045.01.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 stock index in Paris was up 0.3% while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was rose 0.2%.
‘Investors appear to be in defensive mood judging by the other stocks dominating the list of FTSE 100 risers. Utilities, precious metal miners and tobacco manufacturers were bid up, with more cyclical stocks in the form of industrial miners, financials and media among the biggest fallers,’ commented Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
In the FTSE 100, precious metal miner Fresnillo was the best performer, up 1.7%, tracking spot gold prices higher.
Gold stood at $1,944.77 an ounce Thursday morning, rising from $1,933.76 at the London equities close Wednesday.
At the other end of the large-caps, Schroders and Pearson were the worst performers, down 3.5% and 3.0%, after the stocks went ex-dividend, meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the latest payout.
Next was down 2.5%. The clothing and homewares retailer downgraded its earnings expectations following the closure of websites in Ukraine and Russia.
For the financial year that ended January 29, revenue was up 31% to £4.63 billion from £3.53 billion the year before, and pretax profit surged to £823.1 million from £342.4 million. Pretax profit was marginally higher than the company's recent guidance of £822 million.
Looking ahead, Next reduced its central guidance for full-year full price sales growth to 5% from 7%, amid the closure of its websites in Ukraine and Russia.
It has lowered sales guidance by £85 million and knocked its profit outlook by £10 million.
As a result, it expects annual pretax profit of £850 million, down from the previous £860 million forecast. This would still represent 3.3% growth from financial 2022.
International Consolidated Airlines was down 2.0% after Deutsche Bank cut the British Airways parent to 'hold' from 'buy'.
In the FTSE 250, Bridgepoint Group was the best performer, up 11%, after the private equity investor reported strong results in its maiden year as a listed company.
For 2021, pretax profit was £62.6 million, up 29% from £48.5 million in 2020, and total operating income £270.6 million, up 41% from £191.8 million.
Bridgepoint had total assets under management of €32.9 billion at December 31, up 24% from €26.6 billion at the same time the year before.
Bridgepoint declared a 3.64p dividend for 2021, up from 0.79p in 2020.
Looking ahead, Bridgepoint said it is well positioned for 2022, with its financial performance in line with expectations.
Games Workshop was up 8.1% after the miniature wargames maker said trading in the three months to the end of February 2022 has been in line with expectations. It declared a dividend of 70 pence per share, in line with the company's policy of distributing surplus cash.
At the other end of the midcaps, XP Power was the worst performer, down 8.5%. The Singapore-based maker of power controllers said Comet Technologies was awarded $40 million in damages as part of a US lawsuit.
The San Jose, California-based firm had alleged trade secret misappropriation relating to radio frequency match and generator technology. XP power said a jury in the US trial - which began on March 14 - found in favour of Comet, awarding the damages against XP.
In response, XP Power said it did not agree with the ruling and was considering next steps. The stock also went ex-dividend.
In Asia on Thursday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended down 0.6%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong lost 0.9%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.1%.
The pound was quoted at $1.3180 early Thursday, lower from $1.3201 at the London equities close Wednesday. The euro was priced at $1.0992, down from $1.1005. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥121.57 in London, up from JP¥121.03.
Brent oil was quoted at $122.44 a barrel on Thursday morning, up from $121.99 late Wednesday.
The economic calendar on Thursday has a PMI reading from the UK at 0930 GMT. US jobless claims are at 1230 GMT followed by the PMI at 1345 GMT.
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