𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The FTSE 100 made steady progress on Thursday, boosted by brighter-than-expected UK growth figures, strong trading updates and record highs on Wall Street.

The FTSE 100 closed up 30.41 points, 0.3%, at 10,589.99. The FTSE 250 ended 113.91 points higher, 0.5%, at 22,779.50, and the AIM All-Share rose 1.84 points, 0.2%, to 797.86.

In the UK, economic growth accelerated in February, beating expectations on stronger services and production output.

Monthly GDP grew by 0.5% in February, following growth of 0.1% in January, which was revised up from showing no growth previously. February’s total comfortably outstripped 0.1% consensus.

Deutsche Bank chief UK economist Sanjay Raja said the figure “smashed expectations” and means the UK likely entered the energy shock caused by the Middle East crisis on a stronger footing than many expected.

But he warned that upward GDP momentum will not last.

“Households will have already started to feel the impact of the Iran energy shock, impacting disposable incomes and discretionary spending. Pump prices are up over 20% since the oil shock occurred. And dual fuel bills are due to rise by a similar amount over the summer,” he said.

“As such, expect more sluggish growth into Q2-26 (and beyond),” he cautioned.

The better economic news came after Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said policymakers will not rush to hike interest rates in response to the energy crisis.

Speaking at the International Monetary Fund spring meeting in Washington DC, Mr Bailey told the BBC the BoE is facing a “very, very difficult” decision on rates at its meeting on April 30.

Mr Bailey said: “There’s really difficult judgments to be made. We’re not going to rush to judgments on those things, because there are a lot of uncertainties around this, not just how it’s going to play out, but also how it’s going to pass through into the UK economy.”

In European equities on Thursday, the Cac 40 in Paris ended flat, and the Dax 40 in Frankfurt rose 0.4%.

In New York, markets were higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1%, the S&P 500 was 0.3% higher, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.4%.

The S&P and Nasdaq Composite hit further record highs after strong gains on Wednesday, spurred by hopes around a potential breakthrough in US-Iran talks.

Joshua Mahony, at Scope Markets, said: “The notion that valuations should be higher than the beginning of this crisis despite the huge disruptions and risks seems somewhat unbelievable, however this is certainly a very uneven rally indeed.”

The oil price resumed its upward trajectory despite the hopes for a resolution to the crisis.

Brent oil traded higher at 98.39 dollars a barrel on Thursday afternoon, compared to 95.40 at the time of the equities close in London on Wednesday.

The US will blockade Iranian ports for “as long as it takes”, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said, threatening renewed strikes if Tehran does not make a deal.

“If Iran chooses poorly, then they will have a blockade and bombs dropping on infrastructure, power and energy,” Mr Hegseth told a news conference at the Pentagon.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was unchanged at 4.29% on Thursday compared to Wednesday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury widened to 4.91% from 4.89%.

The pound ebbed to 1.3532 dollars on Thursday afternoon from 1.3577 on Wednesday. Against the euro, sterling was lower at 1.1489 euros from 1.1502.

On the FTSE 100, Intertek soared 9.0% after it confirmed it had rejected a 5,150 pence per share bid from EQT Fund Management Sarl, in its role as manager of the EQT X fund.

At that level the offer would value the London-based assurance, inspection, product testing and certification company at around £8 billion. But Intertek said the “unsolicited” proposal “fundamentally undervalues” it and its “future prospects”.

Earlier this week, Intertek said it had launched a strategic review and was considering selling its Energy & Infrastructure business, sparking a surge in its share price. The stock has risen by more than a quarter in the last week.

Elsewhere, Ladbrokes owner Entain jumped 6.0% as it backed its annual guidance, hailing “strong momentum”, with revenue in the UK & Ireland segment and Australia beating expectations.

Retail bellwether Tesco was also in the green, up 4.7%, after annual profit topped forecasts and it raised free cash flow guidance.

Pretax profit in the year to February 28 grew 8.5% to £2.4 billion from £2.22 billion. Adjusted operating profit edged up 0.8% to £3.15 billion from £3.13 billion, topping the company-compiled consensus of £3.1 billion and ahead of the grocer’s own guidance range of £2.9 billion to £3.1 billion.

Shore Capital analyst Clive Black said Tesco delivered “an authoritative, disciplined, and statesmanlike year underpinned by outstanding operational execution”.

BP firmed 3.9% supported by the rising oil price and an upgrade to “buy” by UBS.

The Swiss bank said a “higher for longer” price environment is undoubtedly positive for the stock, but stressed “there is still work to regain investor confidence”.

UBS pointed to opportunities on cost savings, growth, deleveraging the balance sheet and the restoration of share buybacks as being supportive of the oil major’s share price going forward.

On the FTSE 250, Morgan Sindall leapt 7.5% as it raised its profit outlook for 2026 for the second time in three months.

In an unscheduled trading update, Morgan Sindall said it expects 2026 pretax profit to be “significantly ahead of previous expectations” following “strong trading activity and increased visibility for the remainder of the year from its Construction and Fit Out divisions”.

But budget airline easyJet nosedived 5.0% as it warned of larger than expected loss from higher fuel costs.

Luton-based easyJet said it expects to report a headline pretax loss between £540 million and £560 million for the six months to the end of March, compared to a £394 million loss for the prior year.

Meanwhile, Animalcare Group accepted a £235.2 million takeover approach from Charterhouse Capital Partners.

Shareholders in the veterinary services and pharmaceuticals firm will receive 336 pence cash for every share held. The stock jumped 35%.

Gold traded at 4,802.13 dollars an ounce on Thursday, little changed from 4,802.65 at the same time on Wednesday.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Intertek, up 392.00p at 4,755.00p, Entain, up 35.20p at 620.20p, Halma, up 224.00p at 4,408.00p, Tesco, up 22.20p at 494.05p and Sage Group, up 34.20p at 903.00p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Antofagasta, down 120.00p at 3,770.00p, Airtel Africa, down 10.40p at 350.40p, Rolls Royce, down 36.60p at 1,250.20p, SSE, down 64.00p at 2,644.50p and Babcock International, down 29.00p at 1,234.50p.

Friday’s global economic calendar has eurozone trade figures.

Friday’s local corporate calendar has a trading statement from discoverIE Group.