6th Mar 2026 07:54
(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 was called to open higher on Friday, while UK house prices rose more than expected on an annual basis according to Halifax.
Here is what you need to know before the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called up 51.7 points, 0.5% at 10,465.64
GBP: higher at USD1.3366 (USD1.3309 at previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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UK house prices grew at their "strongest" annual rate in four months, while monthly growth slowed, Halifax reported. The Halifax house price index showed prices rising 0.3% in February, slowing from an 0.8% rise in January, but in line with FXStreet-cited consensus expectations. January's figure was revised upwards from 0.7%. Prices grew 1.3% on an annual basis, beating the consensus forecast of a 0.9% increase. Growth accelerated from a 1.1% increase in January, which was revised up from 1.0%. "The housing market built on its steady start to the year in February, with average prices rising by +0.3%, following an increase of +0.8% in January," commented Halifax Head of Mortgages Amanda Bryden. "Annual growth also picked up to +1.3%, its strongest rate for four months. Since the start of the year, average prices have increased by around GBP3,000, with a typical property now costing GBP301,151. These latest figures suggest the market has regained some momentum after a softer end to 2025. While industry data for January show a slight easing in new mortgage approvals, overall activity has continued to prove resilient."
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BROKER RATINGS
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Peel Hunt cuts Unite to 'hold' (add) - price target 540 (650) pence
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JPMorgan raises Bank of Ireland to 'neutral' - price target 17.80 (16.40) EUR
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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IMI announces a new GBP500 million share buyback programme, following 2025's "strong performance". Revenue for the year increases 4%, or 5% organically, to GBP2.30 billion from GBP2.21 billion in 2024. Pretax profit rises 27% to GBP419 million from GBP330 million. Dividend for the year is 34.2 pence per share, up 10% from 31.1p. Basic earnings per share rise 29% to 124.3p from 96.0p, while the adjusted figures rises 7.9% to 132.2p from 122.5p. Return on invested capital in 2025 was 14.0%, up 60 basis points. The engineering company says that based on current market conditions, it expects to deliver a sixth consecutive year of mid-single digit organic revenue growth in 2026, and to report full-year adjusted basic EPS to be between 136p and 142p.
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Alliance Witan for 2025 reports a plus 4.7% net asset value total return for 2025, down from plus 13.3% in 2024 and trailing behind the plus 13.9% return from its benchmark, the MSCI All Country World Index. "This represents a second year in which we have not fully kept up with extremely strong index returns and that has negatively impacted longer term relative returns," comments Chair Dean Buckley. "Nevertheless, we still have a strong track record of delivering attractive absolute returns over the long term and a rising dividend, while maintaining a disciplined approach to diversification and risk management. Your board recognises that relative underperformance is disappointing and is fully engaged with the investment manager on seeking to improve performance for shareholders over the long term." NAV per share is 1,337.2p at December 31, up from 1,304.9p one year prior. The investment firm's total dividend is up 6.1% on-year at 28.32p per share from 26.70p, following the declaration in January of a 7.08p fourth interim dividend.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Zegona Communications announces the completion of AXA's acquisition of a 40% stake in FiberPass, from which it says Vodafone Spain has generated up front proceeds of EUR400 million. Says the ownership of FiberPass is now 55% Telefonica, 40% AXA and 5% Vodafone Spain. Says EUR200 million of the proceeds will fund the buyback announced in November, and the other half "will be used for debt reduction and puts the business in a good position to deliver net debt of only EUR3.2 billion by the end of our financial year". Zegona says this reinforces its commitment to its leverage target of 1.5x to 2x and further accelerates progress in reducing total annual interest costs.
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By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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Related Shares:
Bank Of IrelandZegona ComIMIAlliance WitanUniteVodafone