BP announces buyback despite lower profits, Virgin Money trading in line

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 56 points higher on Tuesday, having closed down 0.04% on Monday at 7,612.86.

Stocks to watch

Oil giant BP announced a $1.75bn share buyback despite a slump in annual profits. The company said underlying replacement cost profit for 2023 halved to $13.8bn from $27.6bn a year earlier. Looking ahead, it expects first quarter 2024 reported upstream production to be higher compared to the final three months of 2023.

Banking group Virgin Money UK said it has delivered a first-quarter performance in line with guidance with growth in new accounts, deposits and target lending activities at stable margins. Mortgage lending was 0.7% lower over the three months to 31 December at £57.1bn, but the company noted "improving sentiment" in the market as interest rates have peaked.

GSK announced progress on a number of fronts on Tuesday, with positive results showing that the ‘Blenrep’ with bortezomib plus dexamethasone significantly improved progression-free survival in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma compared to daratumumab plus BorDex, with a 59% reduction in the risk of disease progression. At the same time, the China National Medical Products Administration accepted the regulatory application of Shingrix for preventing shingles in adults aged 18 and over at increased risk, following its initial approval for those aged 50 and over. Finally, GSK’s adjuvanted RSV vaccine Arexvy was under priority review by the US FDA for an extension of its indication to adults aged 50 to 59 at increased risk for RSV disease, with a decision expected on 7 June.

Newspaper round-up

Ministers need to intervene to boost the second hand electric vehicle market and allay “uncertainty and concerns” over the health of their batteries, a House of Lords committee has said. Peers on the environment and climate change committee urged the government to step up efforts to encourage electric vehicle adoption amid consumer jitters over the cost of vehicles, the longevity of their batteries and the availability of charging points. – Guardian

Mark Carney has raised $10bn (£8bn) for an eco-friendly investment fund, as the former Bank of England governor seeks to boost funding for net zero projects. Mr Carney has criticised Rishi Sunak’s environmental policies and thrown his support behind the Labour Party in recent months, as he ramps up his campaign to bring more money into green investments. – Telegraph

A British electric van maker once valued at $13bn (£10bn) has gone into administration after burning through $1.5bn without having sold a vehicle. Oxfordshire-based Arrival has appointed administrators at EY to find a buyer for the business, blaming “challenging market and macroeconomic conditions”. Arrival’s Nasdaq flotation in 2021 was the biggest ever for a British company but shares have fallen by 99.98pc as it became clear that the company was unable to service its debts. – Telegraph

Lloyds Banking Group is close to settling a claim from the former owner of the Centre Point tower in central London which relates to the alleged “manipulation” of the Libor benchmark interest rate. Ardeshir Naghshineh claimed he would not have taken on loans from HBOS, which Lloyds rescued in 2009, had he known that Libor, the benchmark against which the products were priced, was being routinely manipulated by Lloyds and other banks and that the rate was therefore “compromised”. – The Times

US close

US stock markets declined on Monday on the back of disappointing results from fast-food giant McDonald's and comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, who said that the central bank was in no rush to cut interest rates.

Powell echoed comments made at the Fed's most recent monetary policy meeting, saying that the "economy's in a good place" after resilient economic data over the past few months.

"Our confidence is rising. We just want some more confidence before we take that very important step of beginning to cut interest rates," he said.

Adding more weight to his argument was a particularly strong result from the Institute of Supply Management's non-manufacturing PMI on Monday which came in ahead of analysts' forecasts.

The Dow finished 0.7% lower at 38,380.12, the S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 4,942.81, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.2% to 15,597.68.