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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Rentokil Initial | 491.4 | 5.2% |
| Airtel Africa | 348.6 | 3.3% |
| SSE | 2,704.0 | 3.2% |
| BAE Systems | 2,298.0 | 3.1% |
| Centrica | 206.8 | 3.1% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Persimmon | 1,188.5 | -6.3% |
| HSBC Holdings | 1,195.8 | -6.1% |
| Barclays | 389.4 | -5.1% |
| Barratt Redrow | 285.8 | -4.7% |
| easyJet | 380.8 | -4.2% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 Year |
| UK 100 INDEX | 10,305 | 0.5% | 20.7% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 46,678 | 1.6% | 12.9% |
| DAX INDEX | 23,590 | 0.2% | 4.0% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 54,453 | 1.0% | 48.0% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 8,629 | 1.3% | 11.4% |
| Commodity | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 95.73 | 9.72% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 100.46 | 9.22% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 5,082 | 0.1% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 587 | 0.4% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 is called to open -47 points at 10,257. The UK 100 looks set to open lower today, The UK economy showed no growth at the start of 2026, monthly GDP figures published by the Office for National Statistics disclosed today. The flat performance followed increases of 0.1% in December and 0.2% in November, meaning the economy grew by 0.2% in the three months to January. Economists had expected growth of 0.2% in January. Services showed no growth in January, production fell by 0.1%, and construction grew by 0.2%.
Wall Street closed sharply lower on Thursday as the move in crude reinforced the stagflation narrative and tightened financial conditions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each fell about 1.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.8%, with all three ending at their lowest closes of the year. Sector leadership reflected the shock. Utilities rose 0.7% and energy gained 1%, while industrials fell 2.5% and consumer discretionary dropped 2.2%. Airlines and travel stocks were hit hard as fuel-cost pressure intensified. Private credit added a second drag, with Morgan Stanley down 4% after limiting redemptions at one of its private credit funds, while Blackstone and BlackRock fell 4.7% and 2.9%.
Asian markets remained under pressure on Friday, though the selloff eased as oil steadied and U.S. futures moved modestly higher after Washington allowed some Russian oil sales. S&P 500 futures were up 0.2% to 0.4%, while Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.2%. Japan and Korea remained the weakest regional markets. The Nikkei 225 fell about 1.2%, the TOPIX lost 0.6% to 0.7%, and the KOSPI declined about 1.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.2% to 0.7%, while the Shanghai Composite was mixed to slightly lower. China continued to outperform the region, helped by large stockpiles and lower near-term vulnerability to oil disruption. Honda fell more than 5% after warning of a historic annual loss tied to EV restructuring.
The dominant macro driver remains the Middle East energy shock, with the Iran war keeping the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut, crude anchored near $100, and markets repricing inflation persistence, higher yields and a more restrictive rates path.
UK
Berkeley Group Holdings (BKG) – Trading Announcement
US
Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) AMC
UK
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US
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UK Gross Domestic Product
UK Manufacturing Production
EU Industrial Production
US Personal Consumption Expenditures
US Durable Goods Orders
US Gross Domestic Product Annualized
US Personal Income
US Personal Spending
US Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index
UoM 1-year Consumer Inflation Expectations
US JOLTS Job Openings
UoM 5-year Consumer Inflation Expectations
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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