Markets Overview:

The UK 100 is called to open -79 points at at 10,190. The UK 100 and other European markets are expected to fall sharply at the open on Tuesday as prospects for peace in the Middle East have not significantly brightened and UK political worries continue to keep government bond yields higher.

London’s blue-chip index is down 64 points on the futures market, after the week started with a gain of just over 36 points to close at 10,269.43.

This morning, oil prices have moved little from where they started the week, while Asian stocks are mixed, with the Nikkei up 0.4% in Tokyo, Hong Kong’s Hang Send flat and India’s Sensex down 1.1%.

South Korea’s Kospi finished down 2.35%, having been down over 5% at one point after a senior government official proposed a “national dividend” to share in excess AI industry profits.

On the Iran situation, Donald Trump said the ceasefire was on “massive life support” and called Iran’s latest offer “a piece of garbage”, after Tehran called for a lifting of the US blockade, sanctions relief and a degree of control over the Strait of Hormuz.

President Trump also said he was considering reviving naval escorts for ships through the Strait of Hormuz, aka ‘Project Freedom’, and said he was supportive of a gasoline tax holiday.

The S&P rose on Monday, bolstered by key tech stocks, even as oil prices rose after President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s latest proposal to end the war.  The broad market index gained 0.19% and closed at 7,412.84, while the Nasdaq inched up 0.1% to end at 26,274.13. Both indexes had scored fresh all-time intraday highs during the session, and they closed at records. The Dow Jones advanced 95.31 points, or 0.19%, to 49,704.47.

Company News & Broker Comments:

Company News:

Greggs continues to open stores at a rapid rate, including its first at a foreign airport, despite concerns that its targets may be stretched.  It has partnered with global travel operator Lagardère Travel Retail at Tenerife South Airport, a destination for millions of UK and international passengers.  The company said the outlet “represents an excellent opportunity to test our offering in an international travel hub”.  It is increasingly offering healthier options alongside its traditional sausage rolls and steak bakes. It has enhanced its salad range with a mix of new and reformulated recipes.  Greggs reported total sales of £800 million for the first 19 weeks of 2026, a 7.5% increase, with like-for-like sales growing 2.5% year-to-date and improving to 3.3% in the last 10 weeks.  The company opened 41 shops, resulting in 2,759 trading locations, and continues to target around 120 net openings for the full year.  It anticipates good first-half profit progress, with the board’s full-year expectations unchanged.

Imperial Brands ‌said on Tuesday that the Iran war could hurt input costs and ​consumer demand if the ​conflict drags on, even as robust ⁠pricing helped offset cigarette ​declines in the first half ​of the year.  The company reiterated its full‑year outlook, noting that although the Middle ​East conflict has created ​a more uncertain macroeconomic backdrop, Imperial has ‌so ⁠far not experienced any material impact.  Imperial Brands’ first-half adjusted operating profit of 1.64 billion pounds ($2.23 ​billion) rose ​a ⁠meagre 0.6% on a constant currency basis, missing ​market expectations of 1.66 ​billion ⁠pounds, as it grappled with persistent declines in cigarette sales ⁠and ​stiff competition for ​smoking alternatives.

Vodafone said it is “building momentum” as the telecoms behemoth pushes further into the UK market following its £4.3bn VodafoneThree deal and signs of stabilisation in Germany.  The UK 100 group reported better-than-expected annual revenue of €40.4bn (£35bn) on Tuesday, with investors closely watching whether chief executive Margherita Della Valle’s turnaround strategy is beginning to deliver more consistent growth.  The results come days after Vodafone agreed to buy out CK Hutchison’s 49 per cent stake in VodafoneThree, giving it full ownership of Britain’s largest mobile operator by customer numbers.  Della Valle said: “We are building momentum across the Group as our transformation programme continues to improve customer experience, simplify operations and strengthen execution”.  Vodafone has spent the past two years reshaping the business through cost cuts and operational restructuring as a means to improve returns after a prolonged period of weak growth across several European markets.  Germany remained a major focus in Tuesday’s results after regulatory changes affecting bundled TV contracts hit broadband and television revenues last year.  Trends in the market continued to improve after consecutive difficult quarters, the telecoms giant said, easing concerns that weakness in the German market could continue weighing on the wider group.

Reporting Today:

UK

Vodafone Group (VOD) – Full Year Results

Greggs (GRG) – Trading Update

IMI (IMI) – Trading Update – Q1 2026

Imperial Brands (IMB) – Half Year Results

US

JD.com (JD) PMO

Reporting Tomorrow:

UK

Spirax Group (SPX) – Trading Update

US

Alibaba Group (BABA) PMO

Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) PMO

Cisco Systems (CSCO) AMC E​​​​​​​

In Focus Today:

UK BRC Like-For-Like Retail Sales

Fed’s Williams speech

EU ZEW Survey – Economic Sentiment

US ADP Employment Change 4-week average

US Consumer Price Index

Fed’s Goolsbee speech

US Monthly Budget Statement

This Week’s Ex-Dividends:

UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 14th May 2026:

Pershing Square Holdings

Coca-Cola HBC AG

Tesco

BP

GSK

Unilever

HSBC Holdings

UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 14th May 2026:

Morgan Sindall Group

PageGroup

Lancashire Holdings

Balfour Beatty

Greencoat Wind

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