UK Stocks-Factors to watch on March 25 (updated)
25/03/2026 07:59
Adds news items March 25 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening higher on Wednesday, with futures FFIc1 up 0.60%. *CREST NICHOLSON: Crest Nicholson CRST.L said its open market sales rate improved in the 10 weeks to March 20 compared to fiscal 2025. *ASOS: ASOS ASOS.L reported a nearly 50% jump in first-half adjusted core profit on, as cost cuts out-weighed a decline in gross merchandise value. *RS GROUP: RS Group RS1R.L warned of lower annual like-for-like revenues due to tough market conditions, primarily in Mexico. *HEADLAM: Headlam HEAD.L warned that revenue will drop materially during the next two years as it refocuses on core customers. *MOBICO GROUP: Mobico Group MCG.L appointed insider Paco Iglesias as its new chief executive officer. *ENQUEST: EnQuest ENQ.L maintained its 2026 production outlook and said the Middle East war had not caused material disruption to its operations so far. * INFLATION: British consumer price inflation held at an annual rate of 3.0% in February, unchanged from January's rate, as per official figures. * RIO TINTO: Rio Tinto RIO.L expects to open Arizona's Resolution Copper mine by the mid-2030s, a senior executive said. Meanwhile, Australia unveiled $1.40 billion in support over 10 years for its Boyne Smelters to stay open. * CAPRICORN ENERGY: Capricorn Energy CNE.L confirmed that it had received multiple proposals from Dragon Oil for its Western Desert assets. * BP: Australia introduced legislation to double penalties for fuel price gouging following an investigation into alleged anti-competitive conduct by major fuel suppliers including BP BP.L. * BT: BT-owned BT.L network operator Openreach has expanded its partnership with Google Cloud to use artificial intelligence to speed up fibre broadband construction. * CONSUMER SENTIMENT: British consumer sentiment this month was slightly weaker than three months earlier, according to a survey from KPMG. * COMMODITIES: Oil prices sank, while gold rose, and copper prices rebounded. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: LIVE/ TODAY'S UK PAPERS > Financial Times PRESS/FT > Other business headlines PRESS/GB (Compiled by Roshni Srivastava in Bengaluru) ((roshni.srivastava@thomsonreuters.com))