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LONDON MARKET CLOSE: Early gains evaporate as oil price rise resumes
- FTSE 100 Performance: Closed lower by 1.5% at 10,413.94, giving up early gains due to rising oil prices amid the Middle East crisis.
- Market Sentiment: Rattled by ongoing Iran conflict, with no immediate resolution in sight, dampening hopes for a sustained market rally.
- Oil Prices: Brent oil rose to USD84.41 per barrel, driven by Middle East hostilities, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz.
- Inflation & Interest Rates: Rising energy costs increased inflation expectations, reducing hopes for interest rate cuts and pushing bond yields higher (US 10-year Treasury at 4.15%).
- Geopolitical Developments: Iran launched drone attacks on US sites in Iraq and UAE, while the UK deployed additional fighter jets to Qatar.
- European & US Markets: CAC 40 (-1.5%), DAX 40 (-1.6%), Dow Jones (-1.6%), S&P 500 (-0.8%), Nasdaq (-0.6%).
- Currency Movements: Pound and euro weakened against the USD, while the dollar strengthened against the yen.
- FTSE 100 Winners: Rentokil Initial (+11%) on strong North American growth, Admiral (+7.6%) on profit rise and dividend hike.
- FTSE 100 Losers: Reckitt Benckiser (-5.8%) on weak Q1 outlook, Fresnillo (-7.3%) and Endeavour Mining (-5.8%) due to falling gold prices.
- Travel Sector: Wizz Air (-11%) warned of EUR50 million profit reduction due to Middle East disruption; IAG (-3.6%) and easyJet (-5.0%) also fell.
- FTSE 250 Highlights: Coats (+8.8%) raised mid-term targets, Harbour Energy (+9.5%) announced new payout policy; PageGroup (-15%) on profit drop and dividend cut.
- Upcoming Economic Data: US nonfarm payrolls, UK Halifax house price data, and eurozone GDP figures on Friday.
LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Stocks higher, UK construction decline continues
- London Stock Market:
- Stock prices higher at midday after opening in the red.
- FTSE 100 up 0.2% at 10,586.60, FTSE 250 up 0.4% at 22,992.62, AIM all-share up 0.2% at 796.14.
- Cboe UK indices also saw gains: Cboe UK 100 up 0.4%, Cboe UK 250 up 0.6%, Cboe small companies up 0.4%.
- UK Construction Sector:
- S&P Global UK construction PMI fell to 44.5 in February, below expectations of 47.9 and remaining in contraction territory.
- Top Performers:
- Rentokil led FTSE 100, up 11%.
- Entain up 6.0% after reporting strong online revenue growth in 2025, despite widened pretax loss.
- Coats Group led FTSE 250, up 9.5%, with increased pretax profit and revenue in 2025.
- Bloomsbury up 19% in small caps, expecting profit in line with consensus and higher profit in 2027.
- European Markets:
- CAC 40 in Paris down 0.6%, DAX 40 in Frankfurt up 0.3%.
- Eurozone construction sector decline decelerated; PMI rose to 46.0 in February.
- Retail sales in eurozone grew 2.0% year-on-year in January, beating expectations.
- Currency and Commodities:
- Pound lower at USD1.3360, euro at USD1.1607, dollar higher against yen at JPY157.33.
- Brent oil up at USD83.35 per barrel, raising energy bill concerns.
- Gold higher at USD5,160.53 per ounce.
- US Markets:
- Stocks called lower; Dow Jones down 0.2%, S&P 500 down 0.1%, Nasdaq marginally lower.
- US 10-year Treasury yield at 4.12%, 30-year at 4.75%.
- Upcoming Data:
- US weekly jobless claims and trade balance data releases expected later Thursday.
LONDON BROKER RATINGS: Deutsche Bank and Barclays cut Vistry
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- 5th Mar 2026 09:40 The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Thursday morning and on Wednesday:
-
FTSE 100
- UBS cuts Intertek price target to 6,000 (6,250) pence - 'buy'
- Citigroup cuts Intertek price target to 5,717 (5,847) pence - 'buy'
- Jefferies cuts Intertek price target to 4,800 (5,800) pence - 'buy'
- Deutsche Bank Research raises Weir price target to 3,723 (3,280) pence - 'buy'
- Jefferies raises Hiscox price target to 1,148 (1,068) pence - 'underperform'
- UBS cuts Sage price target to 1,025 (1,425) pence - 'buy'
- Berenberg raises BAE Systems price target to 2,300 (2,000) pence - 'hold'
- Berenberg cuts Anglo American price target to 3,900 (4,200) pence - 'buy'
- Berenberg cuts Glencore price target to 600 (610) pence - 'buy'
- UBS cuts Fresnillo price target to 4,000 (4,100) pence - 'neutral'
- UBS raises Tesco price target to 530 (500) pence - 'buy'
-
FTSE 250
- Deutsche Bank Research cuts Vistry to 'hold' (buy) - price target 600 (803) pence
- Barclays cuts Vistry to 'underweight' (equal weight) - price target 432 (715) pence
- RBC cuts Vistry price target to 385 (475) pence - 'underperform'
- Deutsche Bank Research cuts Keller to 'hold' (buy) - price target 2,200 (1,660) pence
- UBS raises Softcat to 'neutral' (sell) - price target 1,225 (1,450) pence
- Goldman Sachs raises Quilter price target to 200 (195) pence - 'neutral'
- Deutsche Bank Research raises Quilter price target to 175 (170) pence - 'hold'
- RBC raises OSB price target to 800 (775) pence - 'outperform'
- Bank of America raises Man price target to 320 (280) pence - 'buy'
- Deutsche Bank Research cuts Domino's Pizza to 'sell' - price target 175 (235) pence
- Berenberg raises Hunting price target to 580 (450) pence - 'buy'
- RBC raises Hunting price target to 550 (500) pence - 'outperform'
- RBC cuts PageGroup price target to 305 (325) pence - 'outperform'
- Citigroup raises Inchcape price target to 1,330 (1,115) pence - 'buy'
- Bank of America raises Inchcape price target to 1,173 (1,078) pence - 'buy'
-
SMALL CAP
- JPMorgan raises EnQuest to 'overweight' (neutral) - price target 25 (11) pence
- Berenberg raises Wheaton Precious Metals target to 13,300 (12,100) pence - 'buy'
- Berenberg raises BHP price target to 2,600 (2,300) pence - 'sell'
- Jefferies cuts SIG price target to 9.40 (9.60) pence - 'hold'
- Citigroup cuts Flutter Entertainment price target to 15,800 (24,400) pence - 'buy'
- Deutsche Bank Research raises Cairn Homes target to 245 (200) pence - 'buy'
- Related Shares:
LONDON MARKET OPEN: Stocks in red, PageGroup tumbles
- London Stock Market Opening: Stock prices opened lower on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 down 0.3%, FTSE 250 down 0.4%, and AIM all-share down 0.4%.
- FTSE 100 Leader: Rentokil climbed 8.9% despite a drop in pretax profit, driven by revenue growth and a 4.6% dividend increase.
- FTSE 100 Laggers: easyJet fell 4.1% due to ongoing Middle East conflict, and International Consolidated Airlines dropped 2.8%.
- FTSE 250 Performance: PageGroup plummeted 18% after slashing its final dividend and reporting a significant drop in pretax profit, citing uncertain market outlook.
- European Equities: CAC 40 in Paris down 0.6%, DAX 40 in Frankfurt down 0.5%.
- Currency Movements: Pound lower at USD1.3326, euro at USD1.1597, and dollar higher against the yen at JPY157.23.
- Asian Markets: Nikkei 225 up 1.9%, Shanghai Composite up 0.6%, Hang Seng up 0.4%, and S&P/ASX 200 up 0.4%.
- US Markets (Wednesday): Dow Jones up 0.5%, S&P 500 up 0.8%, Nasdaq Composite up 1.3%.
- Commodities: Brent oil up to USD83.69 per barrel, gold up to USD5,166.46 per ounce.
- Upcoming Economic Data: UK construction PMI, eurozone retail sales, and UK new car sales data expected later on Thursday.
LONDON MARKET EARLY CALL: FTSE 100 called lower as Iran war continues
- London Stocks: Set to open slightly lower on Thursday, ahead of UK construction PMI and US unemployment data.
- US-Israeli War on Iran: Enters its sixth day; flights carrying stranded Britons from the Middle East due to arrive in the UK later Thursday.
- UK Politics: Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government defends the special relationship with the US amid attacks from President Donald Trump.
- Cyprus: Expects British presence; warship to protect British base not set to sail until next week.
- FTSE 100 Futures: Indicate a 0.1% decline (6.9 points) at Thursday's open; closed 0.8% higher at 10,567.65 on Wednesday.
- Currency Movements: Sterling lower at USD1.3322, Euro at USD1.1599, Dollar slightly higher against Yen at JPY157.07.
- US Markets (Wednesday): Dow Jones +0.5%, S&P 500 +0.8%, Nasdaq Composite +1.3%.
- Asian Markets (Thursday): Nikkei 225 +1.9%, Shanghai Composite +0.6%, Hang Seng +0.1%, S&P/ASX 200 +0.4%.
- Commodities: Gold up at USD5,157.81/ounce, Brent oil up at USD83.94/barrel.
- Corporate Calendar: Full-year results from UK firms including Rentokil, Endeavour Mining, Aviva, Admiral, and Serco.
- Economic Calendar: Eurozone retail sales, construction PMIs, and US trade figures.
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