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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Babcock International | 1,039.5 | 5.3% |
| Antofagasta | 3,822.0 | 4.7% |
| Barclays | 440.6 | 3.7% |
| Barratt Redrow | 249.2 | 3.3% |
| Anglo American | 3,767.0 | 3.0% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Experian | 2,600.0 | -6.4% |
| Fresnillo | 3,193.0 | -4.2% |
| Compass Group | 2,093.0 | -3.8% |
| Endeavour Mining | 4,370.0 | -3.0% |
| Intermediate Capital Group | 1,779.0 | -2.9% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 Year |
| UK 100 INDEX | 10,432 | 1.0% | 18.7% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 50,009 | 1.3% | 17.2% |
| DAX INDEX | 24,737 | 1.4% | 2.6% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 61,684 | 3.1% | 65.4% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 8,622 | 1.5% | 2.8% |
| Commodities | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 107.77 | 0.82% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 106.18 | 1.10% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 4,525 | 0.4% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 628 | 0.8% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 is called to open -52 points at at 10,380. The UK 100 looks set to start lower on Thursday after a prosperous previous day on both sides of the Atlantic. London’s blue-chip index has been called 52 points lower on the futures market, chipping away at the gain of almost 102 points made yesterday when it closed at 10,432.34.
There was a bigger bounce in New York overnight, with all three major indexes snapping a three-day losing streak as investors welcomed softer Treasury yields and a sharp drop in oil prices. The tech-powered Nasdaq led the way, striding 1.5% higher, with the Dow Jones climbing 1.3% and the S&P 500 1.1%.
After the closing bell, Nvidia delivered another blockbuster quarter of earnings and $80 billion of buybacks, but saw its shares fall 1.3% in afterhours trade. with investors difficult to impress after the recent years of breakneck growth from the chip heavyweight.
Autotrader unveiled plans on Thursday to return around £600 million ($806.2 million) to shareholders in fiscal 2027 after reporting a 4% rise in annual profit.
BT Group has posted record fibre build and connections as it declared that its transformation strategy was ahead of plan. The company achieved its upgraded fibre build target, passing 4.8 million premises, and now reaches over two-thirds of UK homes and businesses. Openreach saw 2.2 million net new fibre connections and EE’s 5G+ coverage expanded to 73% of the population. The board proposes a final dividend of 5.87 pence per share up 2% from 5.76p, bringing the full year dividend to 8.32p. It reiterated its guidance for sustained growth, projecting normalised free cash flow to reach approximately £2 billion in FY27 and £3bn by the end of the decade. Reported revenue for the year to the end of March was £19.7bn, down 3%, while adjusted EBITDA remained flat at £8.2bn, with a reported profit before tax of £1.4bn, up 8%.
EasyJet posted a first-half loss of £552 million ($741.39 million) on Thursday, in line with the £540 million-£560 million it had warned of in April, as the Iran war continued to weigh on jet fuel costs and consumer bookings heading into the critical summer season. The war has upended the global aviation industry, sending jet fuel prices soaring more than 80% since late February and forcing airlines to raise fares, slash capacity or face squeezed margins as the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz chokes off critical oil supplies. The carrier said its second-half bookings were 58% sold as customers booked vacations closer to home. Easyjet’s April-September bookings were 77% sold at the same point a year earlier.
UK
Autotrader Group (AUTO) – Full Year Results
BT Group (BT.A) – Full Year Results
ConvaTec Group (CTEC) – Trading Update
AJ Bell (AJB) – Interim Results
easyJet (EZJ) – Half Year Results
Sage Group (SGE) – Half Year Results
US
Deere & Co (DE) PMO
Walmart (WMT) PMO
Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) AMC
UK
None
US
None
EU HCOB PMI
UK S&P Global PMI
BoE’s Taylor speech
US Building Permits
US Housing Starts
US Initial Jobless Claims
Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey
US S&P Global PMI
EU Consumer Confidence
UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 21st May 2026:
Whitbread
Bunzl
Imperial Brands
Shell
UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 21st May 2026:
TBC Bank Group
Grainger
Bellway
Spire Healthcare Group
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