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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| DCC | 5,380.0 | 2.8% |
| Airtel Africa | 355.4 | 2.4% |
| Centrica | 211.2 | 2.0% |
| Coca-Cola Europacific Partners | 7,260.0 | 1.9% |
| British American Tobacco | 4,312.0 | 1.8% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Endeavour Mining | 4,191.0 | -4.5% |
| Antofagasta | 3,488.0 | -3.4% |
| Anglo American | 3,520.0 | -3.1% |
| Compass Group | 28.5 | -2.7% |
| Experian | 2,669.5 | -2.7% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 Year |
| UK 100 INDEX | 10,333 | 0.1% | 22.8% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 49,142 | 0.1% | 22.2% |
| DAX INDEX | 24,018 | 0.3% | 7.8% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 59,917 | 1.0% | 66.2% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 8,711 | 0.6% | 7.9% |
| Commodity | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 99.45 | 0.48% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 111.26 | 2.80% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 4,596 | 0.0% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 598 | 0.1% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 is called to open -16 points at at 10,316. The UK 100 looks set to be heading for a sluggish start on Wednesday, as markets await a new catalyst, with Middle East deadlines and central bank meetings to come. On the futures market, a decline of around 16 points is the bet for the London index, after it managed to eke out a gain of almost 12 points to close at 10,332.79 the day before.
Wall Street was in reverse overnight, as weakness in chip stocks weighed heavily on sentiment, with the Nasdaq falling 0.9% after reports tied to OpenAI rattled investor confidence across the semiconductor space. The S&P 500 slipped 0.5% and the Dow Jones dipped 0.1% by the finish, following which there came earnings after the bell from Visa and Starbucks.
Stocks are mixed in Asia this morning, with the Nikkei down 1% in Tokyo, while the Hang Seng and Sensex rise 1.5% and 1.2% in Hong Kong and Mumbai.
GSK reported first-quarter profit above analysts’ expectations on Wednesday, helped by strong sales of its respiratory and other general medicines. GSK reported core earnings per share of 46.5 pence for the three months ended March 31, compared with analyst expectations of 43.3 pence, according to company-provided consensus estimates.
Haleon on Wednesday reported first quarter revenue growth slightly below analyst expectations, as weakness in other international markets was partially balance out by growth in North America. Haleon, which has been struggling with weakening demand and stiff competition in the U.S., its largest market, has been revamping leadership and distribution channels in the region and now expects North American growth to accelerate through the year. The Sensodyne toothpaste maker reported organic revenue growth of 2.2% for the three months through March, compared to analysts’ expectations of 2.3%, according to the company-compiled consensus. It reiterated expectations for 3-5% organic revenue growth and high-single digit adjusted operating profit growth in 2026.
Lloyds Banking Group has upgraded its income targets for the year as the bank expects to bring in more cash as interest rates remain elevated from the Iran war. The UK 100 financial giant – which counts Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland among its subsidiaries – said it expects net interest income to now be north of its previous estimate of £14.9bn. It comes after the conflict in the Middle East stoked fears of an energy shock and have fanned the flames of inflation, leaving central banks hesitant to cut rates. “Increases in energy prices lead to the re-emergence of inflationary pressures, with reductions in UK Bank Rate expected to be delayed until 2027,” Lloyds said in its update. The upgrade came as Lloyds delivered a 33 per cent jump in pre-tax profit, hitting £2bn. The figure breezed past the £1.8bn pencilled in by analysts. This was driven by the expansion of the bank’s net interest margin – a key indicator of a firm’s profitability from lending – to 3.17 per cent. This was up 14 basis points year-on-year and seven basis points from the last quarter. The firm’s structural hedge, which banks use to shield against interest rate volatility, was credited for the expansion. Income from the hedging for the year is now expected to exceed £7bn. Lloyds set aside £295m for sour loans, which £101m was attributed to the “deterioration in economic outlook as a result of the Middle East conflict”. The firm said it balanced the hit by releasing a £50m reserve it had previously held for “global tariff and political disruption risks,” which the bank now feels is covered by their new war-based model On the motor finance front, Lloyds made no change to its provision but warned there “still remain a number of uncertainties”. The country’s largest motor finance lender Black Horse is among the financial services group’s subsidiaries. The group said at the beginning of April that it had “undertaken an assessment of the implications and impact” of the final redress and believed the £2bn it has set aside would suffice.
UK
Evoke (EVOK)* – Full Year Results
Haleon (HLN) – Q1 2026 Trading Statement
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) – Q1 Interim Management Statement
PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) – Q1 2026 Results
AstraZeneca (AZN) – Q1 2026 results
GSK (GSK) – Q1 2026 results
US
AbbVie (ABBV) PMO
Automatic Data Processing (ADP) PMO
Etsy (ETSY) PMO
Fiverr International (FVRR) PMO
Lemonade (LMND) PMO
Markel Group (MKL) PMO
Alphabet (GOOGL) AMC
Amazon.com (AMZN) AMC
Ford Motor Co (F) AMC
Meta Platforms (META) AMC
Microsoft (MSFT) AMC
Qualcomm (QCOM) AMC
UK
Standard Chartered (STAN) – Q1 2026 results
Inchcape (INCH) – Q1 Trading Update
OSB Group (OSB) – Q1 Trading Update
Unilever (ULVR) – Q1 2026 Trading Statement
Endeavour Mining (EDV) – Q1 2026 Results
US
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) PMO
Caterpillar (CAT) PMO
ConocoPhillips (COP) PMO
Eli Lilly and Co (LLY) PMO
Mastercard (MA) PMO
Merck & Co (MRK) PMO
Willis Towers Watson (WTW) PMO
Amgen (AMGN) AMC
Apple (AAPL) AMC
Riot Platforms (RIOT) AMC
Rivian Automotive (RIVN) AMC
SanDisk (SNDK) AMC
Twilio (TWLO) AMC
EU Business Climate
EU Consumer Confidence
EU Economic Sentiment Indicator
US Building Permits
US Durable Goods Orders
US Housing Starts
Fed Interest Rate Decision
Fed Monetary Policy Statement
FOMC Press Conference
UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 30th April 2026:
Weir Group
IG Group Holdings
UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 30th April 2026:
Senior
International Workplace Group
Greggs
Elementis
Genuit Group
4imprint Group
Bodycote
Alfa Financial Software Holdings
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