London midday: FTSE touch higher as LSEG, Rolls-Royce rally
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Thursday 26 Feb 2026
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still a touch higher by midday on Thursday following a record close in the previous session, as investors digested results from US tech giant Nvidia and a raft of UK earnings, including well-received numbers from LSEG and Rolls-Royce.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 10,816.14.
Overnight, Nvidia delivered better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter, but the reaction to the beat was muted.
Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said: "It's been a lacklustre start for the FTSE 100, but London's blue‑chip index is still hanging near record levels.
"The AI juggernaut is powering on, with Nvidia's results demonstrating how the world is still entranced by the potential power of the technology, and willing to invest huge sums in trying to stay ahead of the game. However, the muted reaction to its stellar results demonstrates how investors have come to expect an awful lot from the chip giant. Management had primed the market to expect another stash of bumper results, but even though they exceeded expectations, the stock lifted just 0.2% in after‑hours trading. This sets a high bar for other tech giants to follow and lays the groundwork for fresh cracks to appear in confidence.
"Nvidia is so far the big winner in this AI race, but there remain big concerns that the laggards will not manage to see returns landing at the same pace as the huge capex sums being poured into the technology."
In UK equity markets, The London Stock Exchange Group rallied as it unveiled plans to return £3bn to shareholders, alongside a rise in annual earnings, amid mounting pressure from activist investor Elliott Management.
Engine maker Rolls‑Royce surged as it lifted its mid‑term targets and set out plans for a major share buyback, reporting a "strong" performance for 2025, underpinned by further progress in its transformation programme and continued end‑market growth.
Howden Joinery gained as it announced a new £100m share buyback for 2026 and reported a rise in full-year profit and revenue.
Jupiter Fund Management surged after it announced a share buyback of up to £30m and a special dividend, as it reported better-than-expected full-year profits and the first calendar year of positive net inflows since 2017.
On the downside, Hikma Pharmaceuticals tumbled after the generics drugmaker withdrew its medium-term guidance and adopted a cautious outlook for the current year.
Animal genetics firm Genus was also sharply lower despite decent interim results, following recent share price strength.
Shares in grocer and technology group Ocado slid after it said it would be slashing around 1,000 jobs as part of a drive to save £150m in costs after setbacks to its automated warehouse programme rollout.
WPP was under pressure as it said it was planning to save £500m in annual costs by 2028 as it looks to restore growth.
As part of the restructuring, the advertising firm will become a single company, streamlined into four operating units across four regions, all unified by its "pioneering agentic marketing platform", WPP Open.
News of the overhaul came alongside the company's preliminary results, which showed that headline operating profit fell to £1.32bn in the year to the end of December 2025 from £1.71bn the previous year. Revenue less pass-through costs declined 10.4% to £10.18bn.
Tate & Lyle fell as it said its third-quarter performance was in line with expectations but highlighted continued muted market demand.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,816.14 0.09%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,648.38 0.05%
techMARK (TASX) 6,030.41 -0.22%
FTSE 100 - Risers
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,246.00p 5.80%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,383.50p 5.61%
Haleon (HLN) 388.90p 2.91%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,304.00p 2.43%
Entain (ENT) 583.40p 2.28%
easyJet (EZJ) 470.40p 1.75%
Halma (HLMA) 4,140.00p 1.57%
Relx plc (REL) 2,451.00p 1.49%
ICG (ICG) 1,704.00p 1.37%
Croda International (CRDA) 3,155.00p 1.35%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,371.00p -17.01%
Fresnillo (FRES) 4,184.00p -3.28%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 4,317.00p -3.10%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 395.90p -2.73%
Tesco (TSCO) 480.80p -2.32%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 8,716.00p -2.24%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,744.00p -2.22%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 351.40p -2.01%
Diageo (DGE) 1,605.00p -1.89%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 7,339.00p -1.64%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 916.50p 7.07%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 200.50p 6.65%
Me Group International (MEGP) 132.00p 5.77%
Drax Group (DRX) 917.50p 3.97%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 143.50p 3.76%
Playtech (PTEC) 368.00p 3.52%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 313.00p 2.83%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 198.40p 2.59%
Marshalls (MSLH) 176.40p 2.56%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 722.00p 2.48%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Genus (GNS) 2,905.00p -8.36%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 217.00p -7.66%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 51.35p -7.06%
WPP (WPP) 255.30p -6.28%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 378.00p -5.31%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 613.00p -3.01%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 237.20p -2.71%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 1,014.00p -2.50%
HGCapital Trust (HGT) 416.50p -2.34%
North Atlantic Smaller Companies Inv Trust (NAS) 363.98p -1.89%
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