4 March 2021 | 09:09am
StockMarketWire.com - The FTSE 100 opened down slightly, falling 43.61 points to 6,631.86 as a raft of companies report lacklustre figures for 2020.
Insurance company Aviva reported a fall in annual profit owing to the impact of Covid-19 and a fall in gross written premiums. For the year ended 31 December 2020, pre-tax profit fell to £2.57 billion from £3.82 million year-on-year as gross premiums fell to £29.02 billion from £29.71 billion. In spite of the news, its share price rose nearly 4% to 397.9p.
Admiral, meanwhile, reported that annual profit rose by a fifth as claims frequency fell as people drove less during lockdowns. For 2020, pre-tax profit rose to £637.6 million from £522.6 million as turnover grew 2% to £3.55 billion. Its share price, however, fell 1% to £31.19.
A U.S. judge on Wednesday quashed a bid to widen the scope of a civil lawsuit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that accused miner Rio Tinto of fraud at its Mozambican coal business, a court filing showed.
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