Petropavlovsk operations uninterrupted by conflict in Ukraine, Prudential FY operating profits rise

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was being called to open 134.1 points higher ahead of the bell after closing out the previous session just 0.07% firmer at 6,964.11

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Russia-focussed mining outfit Petropavlovsk said on Wednesday that its operations were currently carrying on without interruption despite the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Petropavlovsk stated no members of the group had been named in sanctions against Russia announced by the United Kingdom, United States, European Union and other nations and said "appropriate systems and procedures" had been put in place to verify that it was not conducting restricted forms of business with any sanctioned parties. However, the FTSE 250-listed firm did caution that "significant risk" was posed by the potential disruption to its supply chain despite management initiating contingency planning on day one of the crisis to mitigate risk and ensure that operations continued uninterrupted.

In a separate statement, Petropavlovsk said it was aware of the provisions in the UK's new Russian sanctions in relation to dealings with transferable securities or money market instruments issued by certain sanctioned entities or persons connected with Russia and, after having taken legal advice on the issue, does not consider its shares or debt instruments to be restricted securities. Petropavlovsk said it did not expect to be subject to sanctions due to being based in the UK and that, "to the company's knowledge", no restricted individual or entity owns more than 50% of its shares or voting rights.

Insurer Prudential reported a rise in annual operating profit on Wednesday, driven by a solid new business performance amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Prudential said adjusted operating profit increased 16% to $3.23bn, beating consensus estimates for a print of $3.19bn. However, new business levels in Hong Kong, its Asian headquarters, continued to face pressure from the extended mainland China border closure.

Newspaper round-up

Sadiq Khan has called on ministers to grant him powers to freeze private rents in London, amid a push by Labour over cost of living issues which also saw the party reiterate its call for the scrapping of the planned increase in national insurance contributions. The mayor has previously called on the government to allow him to put in place rent controls in London as a way to ease fast-rising costs, but has been rebuffed by ministers. - Guardian

Car manufacturers are facing soaring costs and supply issues after the price of nickel doubled to record levels in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Prices passed $100,000 (£76,000) a tonne – driven up by buyers racing to cover short positions – before the London Metal Exchange suspended trading in nickel for the day. - Guardian

Russia has suspended the sale of foreign currencies until September in a scramble to steady its economy, as rating agency Fitch indicated that a sovereign default is imminent. Citizens will not be able to buy foreign currencies in local banks but they will, however, be able to change them into the local ruble unit. - Telegraph

Elon Musk has claimed he was forced to sign a settlement with the US government that kept him in charge of Tesla, saying the deal was necessary for "the immediate survival" of the company. The world's richest man stepped up his campaign against the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, asking a court to throw out the 2018 deal and accusing the agency of having a "vendetta" against him. - Telegraph

British companies posting messages for International Women's Day are having their gender pay gaps exposed by a Twitter bot, leading some to delete their posts. Companies such as Ryanair, Barclays and outsourcer Capita, as well as universities and government departments, have been called out by the Gender Pay Gap Bot, which states in its Twitter biography: "Employers, if you tweet about International Women's Day, I'll retweet your gender pay gap." - The Times

US close

Major indices recorded more losses on Tuesday as market participants remained cautious following yesterday's selloff driven by elevated oil prices.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.56% at 32,632.64, while the S&P 500 was 0.72% softer at 4,170.70 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.28% weaker at 12,795.55.