At the opening bell, the FTSE 100 dropped 64.87 points to 10,393.63. This downturn was driven by surging oil prices amid supply concerns in the Strait of Hormuz, alongside elevated bond yields that exerted downward pressure on mining stocks. Brent crude futures climbed 3.77% to reach USD 104 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) moved up 3.65% to USD 91.50 per barrel.
In currency markets, the pound weakened against the dollar early Thursday, moving to USD 1.3206 from USD 1.3210 late Wednesday afternoon. Sterling also declined against the euro, shifting to EUR 1.1783 from EUR 1.1783—pardon, from EUR 1.1807.
Gainers & Losers
Imperial Brands paced the advancing stocks, jumping 3.30% to 2,570.00p, closely followed by Tesco, which rose 3.17% to 490.90p. Sainsbury (J) advanced 2.23% to 334.90p, IG Group Holdings added 2.21% to 971.00p, Aberdeen Group increased 1.37% to 237.60p, and BP moved up 1.34% to 569.50p.
Conversely, Endeavour Mining led the decliners, falling 2.34% to 4,008.00p. Lion Finance Group dropped 2.03% to 12,570.00p, Diploma retreated 1.49% to 7,585.00p, and Rio Tinto slipped 1.44% to 6,921.00p. Spirax Group lost 1.33% to settle at 7,045.00p, and AstraZeneca pulled back 0.81% to 12,082.00p.
Imperial Brands Reaffirmed its Outlook
Shares of Imperial Brands reached a nearly two-month high after the business reiterated its financial targets for the 2026 fiscal year and announced an additional GBP 1.5 billion share buyback program for fiscal year 2027.
The tobacco company anticipates low-single-digit growth in tobacco net revenue, double-digit growth in NGP net revenue, and group adjusted operating profit growth falling inside its targeted 3% to 5% range. Furthermore, management projects high-single-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share and expects to generate more than £2.2 billion in free cash flow over the course of the year.
Vodafone Raises Savings Target
Vodafone has increased its annual cost-reduction goal for VodafoneThree to GBP 1 billion as part of its strategy to accelerate expansion following the merger of its UK operations with Three. The telecom giant now targets GBP 1 billion in annual savings by the year 2032, marking an increase from the previous objective of GBP 700 million by 2030.
Additionally, VodafoneThree anticipates that its operating cash flow will more than triple by 2032 while it advances an GBP 11 billion investment initiative designed to enhance mobile coverage throughout the UK. This update follows Vodafone’s July buyout of CK Hutchison’s remaining 49% stake in VodafoneThree for GBP 4.3 billion, securing full ownership of the UK’s largest mobile network operator.
Tesco Shares Rebound
Tesco stock climbed more than 3% during early trading sessions following an upward revision to the firm’s profit outlook. Chief Executive Ken Murphy informed reporters of his intention to build upon Tesco’s dominant 27.8% market share.
“I was told six years ago that we had topped out, and life was over for Tesco. In the last four years, we’ve grown share by 113 basis points, which I think most people have been surprised by,” Ken stated.
“So we like to surprise people. We have a great team in it that runs a great brand, and we’re very proud of it. So we have an ambition to keep on growing,” he added.
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Global Market View
Across the Atlantic, the S&P 500 advanced 0.58% to set a record closing level of 7,818.93, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 253.38 points (or 0.49%) to finish at 51,521.28. The NASDAQ Composite moved up 0.45%, concluding the session at a record 27,599.7944h 7.
Asian markets trended downward. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 retreated 1.42% to 69,042.11, China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.72%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 1.39%, and South Korea’s Kospi dropped 2.62%. In India, the Nifty 50 and the Sensex fell by 1.42% and 1.24%, respectively.
