The FTSE 100 opened 21.92 points higher at 10,930.33 on Thursday, as investors shifted focus to the Bank of England’s upcoming interest rate decision, largely ignoring a hawkish stance from the Federal Reserve and overnight losses on Wall Street. Brent crude futures rose 2.13% to $92.67 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) advanced 1.47% to $85.70 per barrel.
Sterling strengthened to $1.3352 from $1.3284 in the previous session, but fell against the euro to €1.1654 from €1.1673.
Gainers & Losers
On the upside, Rolls-Royce Holdings surged 4.03% to 1,435.60p. Aberdeen Group gained 2.19% to 243.20p, while Investec advanced 1.99% to 641.50p. Lloyds Banking Group climbed 1.75% to 113.30p, Croda International rose 1.58% to 3,271p, and Standard Chartered also added 1.58% to 2,191p.
On the downside, London Stock Exchange Group fell 3.50% to 8,876p. Rentokil slumped 17.08% to 367.60p, while Reckitt Benckiser declined 0.96% to 5,348p. Games Workshop Group slipped 0.86% to 19,680p, AstraZeneca eased 0.59% to 13,056p, and Next plc edged 0.56% lower to 15,095p.
Rentokil Shares Decline
Rentokil shares plummeted after its CEO criticized the firm’s failure to meet its growth potential across multiple markets. The stock shed over 17% in early trade. Chief executive Mike Duffy stated the company is “not delivering on our growth potential in many of the markets we operate in, nor adequately benefiting from our scale.” The firm reported a 6.7% rise in group revenue for the first half of the year to $3.5 billion (£2.6 billion), with profit before tax growing nearly 10% to $263 million (£196 million). Duffy added, “Our focus is driving volume growth over short-term margin expansion, and this targeted redeployment of resources will enable us, over time, to accelerate organic growth, improve margins and free cash flow and deliver on the clear opportunity for shareholder value creation.”
Rolls-Royce Shares Jump
Rolls-Royce shares jumped on Thursday after the company raised its targets and posted a near 50% jump in operating profits for the first half of the year. The firm reported £2.5 billion in underlying operating profit for the first half, up 46% from the same period last year. It now expects to make £4.7 billion to £4.9 billion in underlying operating profit, up from its previous targets of between £4 billion and £4.2 billion. Chief Executive Tufan Erginbilgic, who has pushed through a sweeping overhaul of the aerospace and engineering group, said the company’s “transformation continues to deliver.” “We are demonstrating that Rolls-Royce is now a very different company to that of the past,” he said.
Lloyds £1 Billion Share Buyback
Lloyds Banking Group unveiled a £1 billion share buyback and a new four-year strategy after reporting stronger profit for the second quarter. Statutory pre-tax profit rose to £4.3 billion in the first half, from £3.5 billion a year earlier. Second-quarter profit of £2.3 billion beat the £2.1 billion expected by analysts. CEO Charlie Nunn said, “In the first half of 2026, we delivered sustained strength in financial performance, with continued income growth, improving operating leverage, strong credit performance, growing capital generation and increasing shareholder returns.” Guidance for the full year remains unchanged.
Global Market View
In the US, Wall Street fell after the Federal Reserve held interest rates. The Dow Jones fell 1,153 points, or 2.2%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.5% and the Nasdaq dropped 1.7%.
In Asia on Thursday, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.71% to 61,867.43, while China’s Shanghai Composite dipped 0.62%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.18%, and South Korea’s Kospi edged lower by 1.23%. In India, both the Nifty 50 and the Sensex rose by 0.15% and 0.066%, respectively.