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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Metlen Energy & Metals | 37.7 | 3.4% |
| Tesco | 488.9 | 2.8% |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals | 1,240.0 | 2.6% |
| Imperial Brands Group | 3,201.0 | 2.4% |
| Rightmove | 464.0 | 2.3% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Fresnillo | 3,406.0 | -6.2% |
| Antofagasta | 3,503.0 | -5.5% |
| Spirax Group | 6,815.0 | -5.0% |
| Rolls-Royce Holdings | 1,215.5 | -4.5% |
| IMI | 2,640.0 | -4.5% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 Year |
| UK 100 INDEX | 10,261 | 0.4% | 18.9% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 46,558 | 0.3% | 12.2% |
| DAX INDEX | 23,447 | 0.6% | 2.0% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 53,751 | 0.1% | 45.1% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 8,583 | 0.4% | 10.2% |
| Commodity | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 100.25 | 1.56% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 105.82 | 2.60% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 4,996 | 0.5% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 575 | 1.5% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 is called to open flat at 10,317. The UK 100 looks set to open broadly flat this morning, having gained marginally yesterday, adding 0.08%, as gains in energy companies offset weakness across travel, leisure and mining stocks. Oil majors such as BP and Shell advanced more than 1%, tracking elevated crude prices amid ongoing disruptions to supply routes in the Gulf. In contrast, travel and leisure stocks declined nearly 2% as higher fuel costs weighed on the sector. The UK 250 underperformed, falling 0.6%, with industrials and financials among the main drags.
U.S. equities closed firmly higher, led by technology and AI-related stocks. The S&P 500 rose 1.01% to 6,699.38, the Nasdaq gained 1.22% to 22,374.18, and the Dow Jones added 0.83% to 46,946.41, marking the strongest daily performance in over a month. Technology stocks drove the rally as Nvidia’s developer conference reinforced expectations for continued AI investment. Nvidia gained 1.6%, while Meta rose after reports the company plans to reduce its workforce by more than 20% as it restructures around artificial intelligence.
Asian markets traded mostly higher. South Korea’s KOSPI surged nearly 3%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% and the TOPIX gained 1.1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.1%.
Rolls Royce confirmed an order for 40 engines to be used on 20 Airbus freighter aircraft.
UK
Essentra (ESNT) – Full Year Results
Travis Perkins (TPK) – Full Year Results
Close Brothers Group (CBG) – Half Year Results
US
Docusign Inc (NASDAQ:DOCU) AMC
Lululemon Athletica Inc (NASDAQ:LULU) AMC
UK
Genel Energy (GENL) – Full Year Results
Softcat (SCT) – Half Year Results
Moonpig Group (MOON) – Trading Update
Prudential (PRU) – Full Year Results
US
Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) AMC
EU ZEW Survey – Economic Sentiment
US ADP Employment Change 4-week average
US Pending Home Sales
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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