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Axel Rudolph, senior technical analyst at online trading platform IG, said:

Shares of electric vehicle maker Rivian (RIVN) were down in pre-market trading after a 2.3% decline in the previous session, as the company issued a surprising forecast for a drop in electric vehicle deliveries this year.

For the fourth quarter, Rivian reported revenue of $1.73bn, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.39bn. The company also posted an adjusted loss of $0.46 per share, a significant improvement over the anticipated loss of $0.65 per share.

It also reported a gross profit of $170m in the fourth quarter, driven by improvements in variable costs, revenue per delivered unit, and fixed costs. "This quarter we achieved positive gross profit and removed $31,000 in automotive cost of goods sold per vehicle delivered in Q4 2024 relative to Q4 2023," said CEO RJ Scaringe in a statement.

Scaringe also noted Rivian’s focus on cost efficiency is crucial for the launch of its mass-market R2 vehicle. "The R2 bill of materials is approximately 95% sourced and is expected to be approximately half that of the improved R1 bill of materials," he added, signalling Rivian’s ongoing efforts to optimise production costs.

Despite these positive results, Rivian’s delivery forecast for the year fell short of Wall Street expectations. The EV maker revised its annual delivery guidance to between 46,000 and 51,000 vehicles, below the 55,520 units predicted by analysts. This represents a slight decrease from last year, when the company delivered 51,579 units.

Rivian attributed its cautious delivery guidance to ongoing policy uncertainty, particularly the potential impact of the Trump administration. "I think they're appropriately being just cautious because it's unclear and they have no control over what's going to happen politically here," said Vitaly Golomb, managing partner at Mavka Capital, a Rivian investor.

Read more on Yahoo Finance UK

If you're wondering why crypto exchange Coinbase stock has suddenly jumped more than 5% in premarket, it's because the Securities and Exchange Commissioner has agreed in principle to dismiss enforcement action against the company.

The move is subject to commissioner approval and, if rubber stamped, ends a years-long legal battle.

Pedro Goncalves writes:

A high-level Japanese group, including former prime minister Yoshihide Suga, has outlined plans for Elon Musk’s Tesla to invest in struggling carmaker Nissan (7201.T), following the breakdown of Nissan's merger talks with rival Honda (7267.T).

According to sources quoted by the Financial Times, the group is exploring the possibility of Tesla taking a strategic stake in Nissan, with hopes that the electric vehicle giant might show interest in Nissan’s US production facilities. The group, which also includes former Tesla board member Hiro Mizuno, believes that such an investment could benefit both companies.

Nissan had been in discussions for a potential $58bn merger with Honda, but those talks ultimately fell apart. For Tesla, investing in Nissan could help boost its domestic production capabilities, particularly as president Donald Trump has threatened sweeping tariffs, including those targeting foreign-made vehicles.

Musk immediately appeared to reject the idea but Nissan’s Tokyo-listed share price still closed at 458.80, its highest since early January during short-lived merger talks with the larger Japanese rival Honda.

Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at global financial services firm Ebury, said:

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said:

Read our full take on the UK's public finance update

February data signalled another marginal rise in UK private sector output. Higher levels of service sector activity helped to offset a solid reduction in manufacturing production, according to the latest S&P Global PMI report. However, sales pipelines remained subdued as total new work decreased for the third month running and at the fastest pace since August 2023.

Private sector firms indicated a further steep decline in staffing numbers, largely in response to higher payroll costs and weak demand. The latest fall was the sharpest since November 2020. Strong wage pressures meanwhile contributed to the fastest increase in average cost burdens for 21 months in February.

“Early PMI survey data for February indicate that business activity remained largely stalled for a fourth successive month, with job losses mounting amid falling sales and rising costs," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

“The lack of growth alongside rising price pressures points to a stagflationary environment which will present a growing dilemma for the Bank of England."

Neil Wilson, analyst at TipRanks, said:

UK public finances headed into a surplus in January due to record income and capital gains tax returns, according to the latest data.

Public sector surpluses hit £15.4bn last month, £800m higher than last year and the highest seen in January since 1993.

Meanwhile, borrowing continues to mount. The amount totalled £118.2bn — £11.8bn more than at the same point in the 2023-24 financial year, the ONS said.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones said:

US stocks were tepid in premarket trade after the major indexes slumped following a weak earnings outlook from retail giant Walmart (WMT) during market hours.

Phil Monkhouse, UK country manager at global financial services firm Ebury, said:

Jacqueline Windsor, head of Retail at PwC UK, said:

Retail sales volumes (quantity bought) are estimated to have risen by 1.7% in January 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics. This follows a fall of 0.6% in December 2024 (revised down from a fall of 0.3% in the last ONS bulletin).

Food store sales volumes grew strongly in January 2025, following falls in recent months.

More broadly, sales volumes fell by 0.6% in the three months to January 2025, compared with the three months to October 2024, but rose by 1.4%, compared with the three months to January 2024.

Supermarkets, alcohol and tobacco stores as well as specialist shops like butchers and bakers all reported strong trading.

Meanwhile, clothing shops and household goods stores had less of a successful month with retailers reporting lacklustre sales due to weak consumer confidence.

“Looking at the broader picture, retail sales have decreased across the three-month period and are below pre-pandemic levels," ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said.

From our US team:

US stocks pulled back on Thursday as investors scrutinised Walmart's (WMT) outlook and assessed the impact of President Trump's planned tariffs and policy shifts.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell roughly 450 points, or around 1%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) dropped 0.5%, pulling back after its second record close in a row on Wednesday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) also lost about 0.5%.

Worries grew about coming headwinds for corporate America after Walmart beat on quarterly profit but issued cautious 2026 fiscal year guidance. Shares of the retail giant tumbled more than 6%. Walmart's decline combined with more roughly 4% drops in Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan (JPM) weighed on the Dow.

Hello from London. Lucy Harley-McKeown here, bringing you the latest business and markets headlines.

We've already had UK retail sales figures out this morning and a report on the government's budget surplus from the Office for Budget

Responsibility — more on those later. Flash PMIs and consumer confidence monitors are also out today.

In terms of corporate results, full-year figures from Standard Chartered (STAN.L) are on the slate.