BAE Systems has seen its order book swell to £37bn as governments upped defence spending amid the war in Ukraine.

Chief executive Charles Woodburn said it was "another year of strong results across the group" as it upped its dividend and boosted sales by 4.4pc to £23.3bn.

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What happened overnight 

Asian stocks were mixed following a broadly downbeat day on Wall Street as Federal Reserve minutes indicated a prolonged period of interest rate hikes.

Key stock indexes in Hong Kong and mainland China fluctuated. South Korea shares rose and Australian stocks fell. There was no trading of equities in Tokyo or Treasuries in Asian hours due to a holiday in Japan.

The 10-year US Treasury yield fell four basis points on Wednesday, although the decline moderated after the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve.

The minutes showed officials expect further interest rate increases to tame inflation. They also revealed that "a few" officials were open to a 50 basis-point hike in the central bank’s meeting earlier this month when it raised interest rates 25 basis points.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3pc to 33,045.09, adding to the near-700 point drop from the previous day. Decline continued for the S&P 500, which closed down 0.2pc at 3,991.05.

On the other hand, the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite manged to pull itself into the green, finishing the day at 11,507.07, up 0.1pc.