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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Schroders | 587.5 | 28.6% |
| DCC | 5,190.0 | 3.8% |
| Admiral Group | 2,824.0 | 3.4% |
| BT Group | 210.2 | 3.0% |
| Severn Trent | 3,170.0 | 2.8% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Rentokil Initial | 439.8 | -6.9% |
| Prudential | 1,075.2 | -6.8% |
| Standard Chartered | 1,730.0 | -4.7% |
| Fresnillo | 3,768.0 | -4.1% |
| Antofagasta | 3,729.0 | -3.6% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 Year |
| UK 100 INDEX | 10,402 | 0.7% | 18.7% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 49,452 | 1.3% | 10.6% |
| DAX INDEX | 24,853 | 0.0% | 9.9% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 56,942 | 1.2% | 44.3% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 8,918 | 1.4% | 4.4% |
| Commodity | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 62.74 | 0.14% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 67.46 | 0.09% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 4,961 | 0.8% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 579 | 0.1% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 is called to open +27 at 10,429. The UK 100 looks set to open higher this morning regaining some of yesterdays decline, having earlier in the previous session, broken through the 10,500 handle for the first time.
Wall Street closed sharply lower on Thursday as AI-related fears deepened and technology shares led a broad risk-off move. The Dow fell 1.34%, the S&P 500 1.57% and the Nasdaq 2.03%, with megacaps and transport stocks under heavy pressure. Cisco’s margin miss added to worries that the enormous AI investment cycle may not yet be translating into earnings resilience. Investors rotated into defensives such as utilities, consumer staples and real estate while awaiting January inflation data.
Asian equities weakened, tracking US losses as investors trimmed risk exposure ahead of US CPI and the Lunar New Year holiday period. Chinese and Hong Kong stocks led declines while Japanese equities eased despite strong weekly performance following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s election victory. Regional sentiment remains sensitive to volatility in US technology names, though some markets still hold solid year-to-date gains supported by AI optimism earlier in the week.
NatWest boss Paul Thwaite today hailed “another strong year” for the lender after annual results showed a 24.4% rise in operating profit before tax to £7.7 billion. All three of NatWest’s businesses of retail banking, private banking and wealth management and corporate and institutional delivered growth. Fourth quarter profits of £1.9 billion fell 11% on the previous three months but still came in above City forecasts for a figure of £1.7 billion. NatWest said it plans to pay a dividend of 23p a share, lifting the total for the year by 51% to 32.5p. Thwaite said: “It is clear our strategy is working, and we are delivering consistently. We are raising our ambition and sharpening our strategic focus, with stretching new targets in place.”
UK
NatWest Group (NWG) – Full-year results
US
Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) PMO
UK
None
US
None
EU Employment Change
EU Gross Domestic Product
BoE’s Pill speech
US Consumer Price Index
UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 19th February 2026:
Imperial Brands
easyJet
Games Workshop Group
GSK
Shell
BP
Barclays
AstraZeneca
UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 19th February 2026:
Moonpig Group
Plus500
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