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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Diploma | 5,933.5 | 18.2% |
| Weir Group | 2,934.0 | 1.7% |
| Standard Chartered | 1,630.5 | 1.5% |
| easyJet | 375.1 | 1.4% |
| Barclays | 402.5 | 1.2% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Fresnillo | 3,246.0 | -5.9% |
| 3i Group | 2,875.0 | -4.9% |
| Ocado Group | 200.5 | -4.8% |
| Prudential | 1,044.0 | -4.7% |
| WPP | 227.4 | -4.5% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 Year |
| UK 100 INDEX | 10,305 | -0.9% | 18.4% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 46,225 | -1.6% | 10.2% |
| DAX INDEX | 23,502 | -1.0% | 0.9% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 53,373 | -3.4% | 41.4% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 8,498 | -1.7% | 8.6% |
| Commodity | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 97.45 | 1.17% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 114.19 | 6.34% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 4,776 | -0.9% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 548 | -1.3% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 is called to open -106 points at at 10,199. UK 100 futures show the index is likely to open sharply lower again this morning, this comes after UK equities declined yesterday as the surge in energy prices and geopolitical escalation weighed on sentiment. The UK 100 closed down 0.9%, while the UK 250 fell 0.5%. Consumer staples led declines after Unilever dropped 3.4% amid reports the company is considering separating its food assets.
US equities closed sharply lower after the Federal Reserve maintained rates and warned about uncertainty stemming from the Middle East conflict and rising energy prices. The S&P 500 fell 1.36% to 6,624.70, the Nasdaq dropped 1.46% to 22,152.42, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.63% to 46,225.15. All eleven S&P sectors finished lower, led by consumer staples and consumer discretionary. Investor sentiment was pressured by a hotter-than-expected US producer price reading and surging oil prices after Iranian energy infrastructure was struck. Treasury yields rose sharply following the Fed’s updated projections.
Asian markets followed Wall Street lower as the Bank of Japan kept rates unchanged and warned that rising oil prices could raise inflation risks. The Nikkei 225 fell around 2.6%, while the TOPIX dropped about 2%. Regional markets were broadly weaker with the Hang Seng down around 1.5%, Shanghai Composite lower by about 1%, and KOSPI down roughly 1.3%.
BP has reached an agreement to sell its Gelsenkirchen refinery and related businesses to Klesch Group, an independent European refiner. The transaction represents another significant milestone in bp’s acceleration of its strategy, including simplifying the portfolio, strengthening the balance sheet and focusing the downstream on its leading integrated businesses. BP is now targeting $6.5 to $7.5 billion of structural cost reductions by 2027, reflecting the expected savings of around $1 billion of underlying operating expenditure associated with Gelsenkirchen. The 2027 cost reduction target now equates to around 30 percent of bp’s 2023 cost baseline. This marks the second time bp has increased its target, having outlined $4 to $5 billion of savings in February 2025, and increased this in February 2026 to $5.5 to $6.5 billion reflecting the outcome of the strategic review of Castrol.
UK
Energean (ENOG) – Full Year Results
US
Accenture (NYSE:ACN) PMO
FedEx Corp (NYSE:FDX) AMC
UK
J D Wetherspoon (JDW) – Interim Results
Smiths Group (SMIN) – Interim Results
US
None
UK Average Earnings
UK Claimant Count Change
UK Employment Change
UK ILO Unemployment Rate
BoE Interest Rate Decision
BoE Minutes
BoE Monetary Policy Summary
BoE MPC Vote
US Initial Jobless Claims
US Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey
ECB Main Refinancing Operations Rate
ECB Monetary Policy Statement
ECB Rate On Deposit Facility
ECB Press Conference
US New Home Sales Change
UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 19th March 2026:
NatWest Group
Standard Chartered
Hikma Pharmaceuticals
Pearson
Melrose Industries
Beazley
M&G
UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 19th March 2026:
Goodwin
Chemring Group
Aberdeen Group
Lancashire Holdings
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