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AI Daily 5 entries
LONDON MARKET CLOSE: Convatec stars as FTSE 100 ends little changed
- FTSE 100 Stability: Held steady on Tuesday, closing nearly unchanged for the second consecutive day, despite concerns over AI disruption and tariffs.
- Market Sentiment: Investors appeared to regain balance after a wobbly start to the trading week, according to Dan Coatsworth of AJ Bell.
- Index Performance:
- FTSE 100: Down 4.15 points at 10,680.59.
- FTSE 250: Down 45.61 points (0.2%) at 23,501.04.
- AIM All-Share: Down 0.73 points (0.1%) at 815.53.
- Cboe UK 100: Up 0.1% at 1,064.00.
- Earnings Focus:
- Convatec: Jumped 10% after raising mid-term guidance and reporting in-line annual results; increased organic revenue growth target to 6-8% for 2027.
- Croda: Rose 7.6% on higher sales and widened profit margin expectations for 2028.
- Standard Chartered: Fell 1.5% despite a larger buyback and stronger dividend, due to profit miss and cost concerns.
- Other Movers:
- Rentokil Initial: Down 3.0% after a downgrade by Deutsche Bank Research.
- Ashmore: Climbed 2.9% on a Jefferies upgrade to 'buy'.
- Unite: Slumped 14% on lower-than-expected 2026 earnings forecast.
- Global Markets:
- European equities: CAC 40 up 0.3%, DAX 40 flat.
- US stocks: Dow Jones up 0.7%, S&P 500 up 0.6%, Nasdaq up 0.9%.
- Advanced Micro Devices: Soared 7.4% on a $100 billion deal with Meta Platforms.
- Currency and Commodities:
- Pound: Climbed to $1.3536.
- Euro: Lower at $1.1787.
- Brent Oil: Traded lower at $71.16 per barrel.
- Gold: Eased to $5,142.02 per ounce.
- Upcoming Events:
- Wednesday's global economic calendar: Australian inflation, Eurozone CPI, German GDP.
- Domestic corporate calendar: Half-year results from Diageo, full-year numbers from Haleon and HSBC.
LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Europe mixed as banks hit FTSE 100
- European Stock Markets Mixed: FTSE 100 down 0.1%, FTSE 250 up 0.2%, AIM all-share down 0.1%, CAC 40 up 0.2%, DAX 40 marginally lower.
- Market Sentiment Shaky: Driven by AI worries and Trump's global 10% tariff implementation, with risk sentiment jittery.
- US Stocks Expected Higher: Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq called to open 0.2% higher after overnight slump.
- Currency Movements: Pound down to USD1.3491, Euro to USD1.1782, US Dollar up to JPY155.70 against Yen.
- Bond Yields Steady: 10-year US Treasury yield at 4.04%, 30-year yield up to 4.70%.
- Commodities Decline: Gold down to USD5,174.17/ounce, Brent crude oil to USD71.31/barrel.
- Banking Sector Struggles: Lloyds, NatWest, Barclays, Societe Generale, and Deutsche Bank shares down due to credit concerns and AI disruption fears.
- Standard Chartered Performance: Shares down 2.0% despite USD1.5 billion share buyback; Q4 and annual profits missed consensus.
- AI Worries Impact Stocks: Relx down 0.9%, LSEG down 0.3%; IBM shares sank 13% in New York due to AI chatbot concerns.
- Raspberry Pi Surges: Shares up 13% on social media speculation about AI demand for its products.
- McBride Shares Fall: Down 7.2% despite reiterating full-year guidance; half-year profitability dropped, revenue up modestly.
LONDON BROKER RATINGS: Deutsche Bank cuts Rentokil; BofA lifts Mony
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- 24th Feb 2026 09:59
- The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Tuesday morning and on Monday:
- FTSE 100
- Barclays cuts Rio Tinto to 'equal weight' - price target 6,600 (6,885) pence
- Jefferies raises Glencore price target to 590 (560) pence - 'buy'
- Barclays raises Glencore price target to 550 (525) pence - 'overweight'
- Berenberg raises Shell price target to 3,300 (3,250) pence - 'buy'
- Berenberg raises National Grid price target to 1,300 (1,070) pence - 'hold'
- Deutsche Bank Research cuts Rentokil Initial to 'hold' (buy) - price target 465 (505) pence
- Goldman Sachs raises Standard Chartered price target to 2,135 (2,025) pence - 'buy'
- Jefferies cuts Admiral Group price target to 3,580 (4,100) pence - 'buy'
- Jefferies raises Unilever price target to 4,300 (4,100) pence - 'underperform'
- FTSE 250
- Bank of America raises Mony Group to 'neutral' (underperform) - price target 175 (173) pence
- Barclays cuts Mony Group price target to 215 (255) pence - 'overweight'
- Barclays raises IG Group price target to 1,755 (1,350) pence - 'overweight'
- Jefferies raises Ashmore Group to 'buy' (hold) - price target 285 (170) pence
- Peel Hunt starts Qinetiq with 'hold' - price target 500 pence
- Peel Hunt starts Chemring with 'buy' - price target 600 pence
- JPMorgan cuts Johnson Matthey to 'neutral' - price target 2,000 (2,250) pence
- Deutsche Bank Research cuts Johnson Matthey price target to 2,120 (2,400) pence - 'buy'
- SMALL CAP, AIM AND OTHER MAIN MARKET
- RBC raises Fevertree Drinks price target to 1,030 (900) pence - 'sector perform'
- Peel Hunt starts Cohort with 'buy' - price target 1,430 pence
- Barclays cuts Tullow Oil price target to 35 (50) pence - 'overweight'
- Citigroup raises BHP Group price target to 2,800 (2,600) pence - 'neutral'
- Related Shares:
LONDON MARKET OPEN: AI worries hit shares; tariffs come into effect
- European Stock Markets: Opened lower on Tuesday due to tariff uncertainty and AI-related concerns from New York. FTSE 100 down 0.2%, FTSE 250 down 0.2%, and CAC 40/DAX 40 each down 0.2%.
- US Tariffs: New 10% tariffs on imported goods took effect, with President Trump planning to raise them to 15%. Exclusions expected for goods under specific investigations and USMCA pact.
- Currency Movements: Pound fell to $1.3485, euro to $1.1787, and US dollar surged to ¥156.05 against the yen.
- US Treasury Yields: 10-year yield steady at 4.04%, 30-year yield rose to 4.70%.
- US & Asian Markets: Dow Jones down 1.7%, S&P 500 down 1.0%, Nasdaq down 1.1% on Monday. Shanghai Composite up 0.9%, Hang Seng down 1.7%, Nikkei up 0.9%, S&P/ASX 200 flat on Tuesday.
- AI Concerns: AI fears impacted delivery and payment stocks, with Relx down 1.9% and LSEG down 1.1%.
- Corporate Performance:
- Convatec up 6.9%, raised medium-term revenue guidance, pretax profit down 6.5% but adjusted profit up 15%.
- Croda up 4.4%, pretax profit down 56% but adjusted profit up 8.4%, dividend increased by 0.9%.
- Unite Group down 9.3%, pretax profit down 78%, maintained dividend at 24.9p per share, expects 2026 adjusted EPS between 41.5-43.0p.
- Commodities: Gold fell to $5,169.07/ounce, Brent crude oil down to $71.55/barrel.
LONDON MARKET EARLY CALL: FTSE 100 to slip after Wall Street slump
- London Stocks: Set to open lower on Tuesday, with FTSE 100 futures indicating a 0.1% decline to 10,673.34, amid ongoing tariff uncertainty.
- Currency Movements:
- Pound slightly down to USD1.3490 from USD1.3505.
- Euro declined to USD1.1780 from USD1.1801.
- US Dollar rose to JPY155.05 from JPY154.33 against the yen.
- US Treasury Yields: 10-year yield steady at 4.04%, 30-year yield rose to 4.71% from 4.69%.
- US Markets (Monday): Dow Jones (-1.7%), S&P 500 (-1.0%), Nasdaq Composite (-1.1%), pressured by technology and financial sectors due to tariff concerns.
- IBM Shares: Sank 13% after Anthropic announced AI capabilities for COBOL programming language, potentially disrupting legacy systems.
- Asian Markets (Tuesday):
- Shanghai Composite (+0.9%) on reopening after February 13.
- Hang Seng Index (-2.0%).
- Nikkei 225 (+0.7%) after public holiday.
- S&P/ASX 200 flat.
- Commodities: Gold fell to USD5,171.12/ounce, Brent crude down to USD71.88/barrel.
- Economic Calendar (Tuesday): Consumer confidence, Richmond Fed manufacturing index, and S&P/Case-Shiller home price index.
- Corporate Results: Full-year results expected from Croda (speciality chemicals) and Unite (student accommodation provider).
- Analyst Insights:
- XS.com's Linh Tran: Tariff proposal heightens inflation and input cost concerns.
- Pepperstone's Michael Brown: Market uncertainty driven by tariffs, Middle East tensions, and upcoming Nvidia earnings.
All Market News Today 427 headlines
IGET
15:44
Invesco Perpetual Select Trust plc - Global Equity Income Share Portfolio
ATR
13:52
Schroders Investment Trusts - Schroder Asian Total Return Investment Company plc
SPI
13:26
Spire Healthcare Group Plc
PCTN
13:24
Picton Property Income Ltd
BLND
13:22
British Land Company PLC
