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Morning Report - 31 March 2026

Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders Price (p) % Chg
Burberry Group 1,073.0 4.5%
London Stock Exchange Group 8,602.0 4.3%
Centrica 210.5 4.3%
British Land Co 356.6 3.9%
Land Securities Group 552.0 3.8%

 

Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards Price (p) % Chg
Antofagasta 3,161.0 -3.2%
International Consolidated Airlines Group 349.5 -1.9%
Airtel Africa 347.8 -1.5%
Reckitt Benckiser Group 9,185.0 -1.2%
Smiths Group 5,102.0 -1.1%
Major World Indices Price % Chg 1 Year
UK 100 INDEX 10,128 1.6% 18.0%
DOW JONES INDUS. AVG 45,216 0.1% 7.7%
DAX INDEX 22,563 1.2% 1.8%
NIKKEI 225 51,244 -1.2% 44.6%
S&P/ASX 200 INDEX 8,482 0.3% 8.1%

 

Commodity Units Price % Chg
WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) USD/bbl. 102.72 -0.16%
Brent Crude (ICE) USD/bbl. 107.25 -0.16%
Gold Spot USD/t oz. 4,564 1.2%
Copper (Comex) USd/lb. 550 0.0%

 

The UK 100 is called to open -36 points at at 10,092.

4 Hours; 2 Months

Click graph to enlarge

Markets Overview:


The UK 100 is called to open -36 points at at 10,092. 
The UK 100 looks set to open marginally lower on Tuesday, as investors balance rising inflation pressures with ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.  Futures indicate the UK 100 will edge down 36 points to 10,092, following a 1.6% gain on Monday.

UK shop price inflation showed a slight uptick, with prices rising 1.2% year-on-year in March, up from 1.1% in February, according to the British Retail Consortium. The increase reflects rising supply chain costs linked to the Middle East conflict, adding to concerns about persistent inflation.

The UK economy grew 1.4% in 2025, official data has shown as data analysts nudged up the estimate for the year.  The Office for National Statistics has confirmed that the UK economy grew more than originally thought but growth slowed down radically as the year passed.  It found that GDP increased by 0.1% in the last quarter of the year, an unrevised figure on a previous estimate. The full-year growth was previously estimated at 1.3%.

The S&P 500 fell on Monday, weighed down by further gains in oil prices and a steep decline in tech, as traders looked past comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on inflation.  The broad-based index dipped 0.39%, posting a third straight losing session and settled at 6,343.72. The S&P was just over 9% off its closing high. The move lower was led by declines in the technology sector, which fell more than 1%. On the flip side, sectors such as financials and utilities saw gains. The Nasdaq dropped 0.73% to 20,794.64. The Dow Jones added 49.50 points, or 0.11%, and closed at 45,216.14.

Asian stock markets are significantly down in Tuesday’s trade as fears of oil prices remaining persistently higher are intact, even as hopes of an end to the month-long war in the Middle East have improved.  At time of writing, the Nikkei is down almost 1.1% to near 51,410, Shanghai trades 0.16% lower to near 3,915, Hang Seng declines 0.4% at around 24,650.

Company News & Broker Comments:

 

Company News:

Lloyds Banking Group today said the FCA’s motor finance redress scheme will require careful analysis after it differed from proposals laid out in October.  The FCA said after last night’s market close that compensation payouts are due on around 12.1 million unfair motor finance deals, at an average of £829 each.  However, the final redress scheme will mean around two million fewer deals are eligible for compensation.  The regulator is expecting the total amount of redress paid under its scheme to be about £7.5 billion, lower than the previous £8.2 billion estimate, and based on about 75% of eligible consumers making a claim.  Lloyds said: “The details of the final scheme differ from the scheme as laid out in October 2025 and require careful analysis.  “Accordingly, the group is assessing the implications and impact of the final rules. The group will update the market as and when appropriate.”

 

Unilever said on Tuesday it ​was in advanced talks with spice ‌maker McCormick, opens new tab about a potential combination of its foods business in a deal ​that would include an upfront ​cash component of about $15.7 billion, with ⁠the majority of the consideration ​in McCormick equity.  If completed, the transaction would ​be structured as a so-called Reverse Morris Trust, which offers tax benefits. Unilever would ​spin off the division and ​then merge it with the Cholula hot sauce ‌owner. ⁠It is expected that Unilever shareholders would retain a 65% stake in the combined entity.

 

Reporting Today:

 

UK

Barr (A.G.) (BAG) – Full Year Results*

Hilton Food Group (HFG) – Full Year Results

Raspberry Pi Holdings (RPI) – Full Year Results

US

 

Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) AMC

 

Reporting Tomorrow:

 

UK

 

None

US

None

 

In Focus Today:

 

Chinese NBS Manufacturing PMI

Chinese NBS Non-Manufacturing PM

UK Gross Domestic Product

EU Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices

US Housing Price Index

ECB’s Sleijpen speech

Chicago PMI

US Consumer Confidence

US JOLTS Job Openings

Fed’s Goolsbee speech

Fed’s Barr speech

Fed’s Bowman speech

This Week’s Ex-Dividends:

 

 

UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 2nd April 2026:

Barratt Redrow

IMI

Smiths Group

UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 2nd April 2026:

Taylor Wimpey

OSB Group

Domino’s Pizza Group

Chesnara

 

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