Market News Feed
AI Daily 5 entries
LONDON MARKET CLOSE: FTSE 100 surges to record as UK inflation cools
- European Stocks Rise: FTSE 100 hits a new record high, closing up 1.2% at 10,686.18, driven by cooling UK consumer price inflation boosting Bank of England rate cut expectations.
- UK Inflation Slows: Consumer prices rose 3.0% in January, down from 3.4% in December, increasing market bets on a BoE rate cut in March (85% probability).
- European Indices: CAC 40 (Paris) +0.8%, DAX 40 (Frankfurt) +1.1%, Cboe UK 100 +1.4%, Cboe UK 250 +0.5%.
- Currency Movements: Pound higher at USD1.3548, Euro lower at USD1.1813, Dollar stronger against Yen at JPY154.38.
- US Stocks Gain: Dow Jones +0.6%, S&P 500 +0.9%, Nasdaq +1.4%. US Treasury yields widened slightly.
- Top FTSE 100 Performers: Antofagasta (+11%), Glencore (+4.8%), BAE Systems (+2.9%) on strong earnings and growth outlook.
- Corporate News:
- Glencore returns USD2 billion to shareholders after failed Rio Tinto takeover.
- Vodafone sells 50% of VodafoneZiggo to Liberty Global for EUR1.0 billion and a 10% stake in new Ziggo Group.
- Liberty Global acquires UK-based Substantial for EUR2 billion, creating a fibre network challenger to BT Group.
- Commodities: Brent oil up to USD69.62/barrel, Gold rises to USD5,002.90/ounce.
- Upcoming Data: US jobless claims, trade balance, eurozone current account, and UK corporate results (Rio Tinto, Mondi, Centrica) on Thursday.
LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: FTSE 100 hits new highs after UK inflation data
- London Stock Market:
- Stock prices higher at midday on Wednesday, driven by soft UK consumer inflation and expectations of a March rate cut.
- FTSE 100 hit a new record high of 10,661.74, up 1.0%.
- FTSE 250 and AIM all-share also posted gains, up 0.3% and 0.2% respectively.
- Top performers: Antofagasta (+4.2%), BAE Systems (+3.8%), Glencore (+2.2%).
- Diageo was the lowest FTSE 100 stock, down 2.2%.
- UK Inflation Data:
- January CPI declined 0.5% monthly, with annual inflation at 3.0%, down from 3.4% in December.
- Food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation slowed to 3.6% annually from 4.5%.
- Core CPI rose 3.1%, in line with expectations.
- Market expectation for a March rate cut by the Bank of England rose to 85%, with potential for three cuts in 2026.
- Corporate Highlights:
- BAE Systems reported higher 2025 profit and confident growth plans.
- Glencore swung to annual profit, set ambitious copper production target of 1.6 million tonnes by 2035.
- Pan African Resources (FTSE 250) reported surging profits and declared an interim dividend.
- Seeing Machines (AIM) dropped 20% on lower revenue expectations but anticipates narrowed losses and positive EBITDA in H2.
- Global Markets:
- European equities: CAC 40 (+0.6%), DAX 40 (+0.9%).
- US futures: Dow (+0.1%), S&P 500 (+0.1%), Nasdaq (+0.1%).
- Commodities: Brent oil up to USD68.56/barrel, gold up to USD4,916.56/ounce.
- Currencies: Pound higher at USD1.3571, euro at USD1.1834, dollar up against yen at JPY153.68.
- Geopolitical Developments:
- Tentative optimism from Washington-Tehran talks, but caution remains.
- Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Geneva continued without breakthrough; Ukraine rejects Russia's demand for control of Donetsk.
- Upcoming Economic Data:
- US releases: Redbook index, industrial production, FOMC minutes.
LONDON BROKER RATINGS: Three brokers cut Unilever to 'hold' from 'buy'
Here is the provided text formatted as bullet points in HTML:
html
- 18th Feb 2026 09:30
- The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations on Wednesday morning and on Tuesday:
-
FTSE 100
- Kepler Cheuvreux cuts Unilever to 'hold' (buy) - price target 5,900 (5,800) pence
- Berenberg cuts Unilever to 'hold' (buy) - price target 5,840 (5,600) pence
- DZ Bank cuts Unilever to 'hold' (buy) - fair value 5,650 (5,200) pence
- Oddo BHF cuts Relx price target to 3075 (4350) pence - 'outperform'
- Goldman Sachs raises Antofagasta price target to 4,200 (4,000) pence - 'buy'
- Citigroup raises Melrose Industries price target to 763 (735) pence - 'buy'
- Berenberg raises AstraZeneca price target to 17,000 (16,000) pence - 'buy'
- JPMorgan cuts Admiral price target to 2,750 (3,000) pence - 'underweight'
- Exane BNP cuts Legal & General to 'neutral' (outperform) - price target 280 pence
- Goldman Sachs raises NatWest price target to 720 (680) pence - 'neutral'
- Bank of America raises Barclays price target to 570 (530) pence - 'buy'
-
FTSE 250
- JPMorgan cuts HGCapital Trust to 'underweight' (neutral)
- Barclays raises Molten Ventures to 'overweight' (equal weight) - price target 575 pence
- RBC raises Chesnara price target to 370 (335) pence - 'outperform'
- Deutsche Bank raises Applied Nutrition price target to 306 (295) pence - 'buy'
- JPMorgan places Inchcape on 'positive catalyst watch'
- JPMorgan raises Inchcape price target to 880 (800) pence - 'neutral'
- Bank of America raises Helios Towers price target to 214 (186) pence - 'buy'
-
SMALL CAP
- Berenberg cuts Yellow Cake price target to 736 (738) pence - 'buy'
- RBC cuts NextEnergy Solar Fund price target to 6,000 (6,500) pence - 'outperform'
- Goldman Sachs cuts BHP price target to 2,600 pence - 'neutral'
- Deutsche Bank Research raises BHP price target to 2,400 (2,350) pence - 'hold'
- Goldman Sachs cuts Magnum Ice Cream price target to 1,190 (1,200) pence - 'neutral'
- JPMorgan cuts Kerry price target to 105 (110) EUR - 'overweight'
- Barclays cuts Kerry price target to 94 (102) EUR - 'overweight'
- Related Shares:
LONDON MARKET OPEN: BAE and Glencore tides lift mining, defence boats
- London Stock Market:
- FTSE 100 opened up 0.4% at 10,597.89.
- FTSE 250 down 0.02% at 23,550.66.
- AIM all-share up 0.2% at 808.30.
- Cboe UK 100 up 0.8%; Cboe UK 250 up 0.1%; Cboe small companies down marginally.
- Top Performers:
- BAE Systems led FTSE 100, up 5.2%, with 2025 sales up 10% and increased dividend.
- Glencore up 2.6%, reporting net income of USD363 million in 2025, reversing 2024 loss.
- Antofagasta up 2.4%; Rolls-Royce up 1.7%; Babcock up 1.8%; Anglo American up 1.6%.
- Trellus Health surged 41% on contract extension with Johnson & Johnson.
- UK Inflation:
- Consumer price index down 0.5% monthly in January, up 3.0% annually (as expected).
- Food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation slowed to 3.6% annually.
- Producer input prices down 0.2% annually; output prices up 2.5%.
- Retail prices up 3.8% annually, below consensus.
- European Markets:
- CAC 40 (Paris) up 0.3%; DAX 40 (Frankfurt) up 0.5%.
- Reports suggest Christine Lagarde may leave ECB before October 2027 term ends.
- France's annual CPI inflation slowed to 0.3% in January.
- Global Markets:
- Nikkei 225 (Tokyo) up 1.0%; S&P/ASX 200 (Sydney) up 0.5%.
- Chinese and Hong Kong markets closed for Lunar New Year.
- Wall Street (Tuesday) closed higher: Dow +0.1%, S&P 500 +0.1%, Nasdaq +0.1%.
- Commodities & Currencies:
- Brent oil up to USD67.73/barrel; Gold up to USD4,919.30/ounce.
- GBP higher at USD1.3564; EUR flat at USD1.1830; USD/JPY at 153.75.
- Upcoming Economic Releases:
- US building permits, industrial production, and durable goods orders.
LONDON MARKET EARLY CALL: Stocks eyed up, US-Iran talks "constructive"
- London Stocks: Set to open higher on Wednesday, ahead of UK consumer and producer inflation data.
- Market Sentiment: Rising unemployment and easing inflation strengthen the case for BoE rate cuts, boosting UK asset appetite.
- FTSE 100 Futures: Indicate a 0.3% rise (27.5 points) at Wednesday's open; closed up 0.8% at 10,556.17 on Tuesday.
- Currency Movements: Sterling at USD1.3558, Euro at USD1.1844, Dollar lower at JPY153.44 against the yen.
- US Markets: Wall Street closed higher on Tuesday (Dow +0.1%, S&P 500 +0.1%, Nasdaq +0.1%).
- Asian Markets: Nikkei 225 up 1.0%, Chinese and Hong Kong markets closed for Lunar New Year, S&P/ASX 200 up 0.5%.
- Commodities: Gold at USD4,934.97/ounce, Brent oil at USD67.63/barrel, both higher than Tuesday.
- Geopolitical News: Iran and US agree on "guiding principles" in talks, but Iran hasn’t accepted all US "red lines."
- Corporate Calendar: Glencore releases full-year results on Wednesday.
- Economic Calendar: UK and France release consumer inflation data; US industrial production data due in the afternoon.
All Market News Today 401 headlines
PSH
17:05
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd
SPI
13:49
Spire Healthcare Group Plc
PCTN
13:47
Picton Property Income Ltd
IGET
10:57
Invesco Perpetual Select Trust plc - Global Equity Income Share Portfolio
PAF
06:01
Pan African Resources PLC
AMRQ
06:01
Amaroq Minerals Ltd.
AI 0 headlines
Acquisitions 0 headlines
Agreement 2 headlines
Approvals 0 headlines
Authorisation 0 headlines
Awards 0 headlines
BTC 0 headlines
Blockchain 0 headlines
Breakthrough 0 headlines
BuyBack 0 headlines
Cancellations 0 headlines
CashOffer 0 headlines
Collaborate 0 headlines
ContractWin 0 headlines
Covid-19 0 headlines
Deals 0 headlines
Diamond 0 headlines
DirectorDealing 15 headlines
Discovery 0 headlines
Exceeded 0 headlines
FCA 0 headlines
FDA 0 headlines
Grants 0 headlines
InvestmentPlan 0 headlines
JV 2 headlines
Launch 2 headlines
Litigation 0 headlines
NewContract 3 headlines
Offers 1 headlines
Offtake 0 headlines
Orders 0 headlines
Partner 1 headlines
Patents 0 headlines
Placing 0 headlines
Positive 0 headlines
Proposals 0 headlines
Reports 4 headlines
Results 9 headlines
PAF
06:01
Pan African Resources PLC