FTSE 100 boosted by encouraging corporate updates
The FTSE 100 rose on Thursday as investors focused on a raft of strong updates from UK companies including Persimmon, Rolls-Royce and Burberry.
UK corporate updates were a welcome distraction from the soap opera that is the scandal surrounding the Nvidia boss’s extramarital affairs. The Nvidia board are reportedly meeting to arrange the ousting of founder and CEO Jensen Huang – a headline that sent Nvidia shares down 8% in the premarket.
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But the FTSE 100 is well insulated from the AI story, leaving UK-focused investors free to focus on strong updates from Burberry, 3I, and Persimmon.
“Some well received corporate updates and its limited exposure to the AI theme helped UK stocks get off on a firm footing on Thursday,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“The FTSE 100 was somewhat constrained by weakness in the resources sector. Commodity prices eased back and Brent crude oil prices are bubbling around the $93 per barrel mark, a long way short of their recent highs as traders continue to weigh diplomatic efforts in the Middle East.”
FTSE 100 movers
Burberry was the FTSE 100’s top riser, jumping 9%, after the luxury brand released expectation-beating interim results.
Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst UK at investing and trading platform IG: “Another clearout of shorts is ongoing in Burberry as the shares soar following today’s update. The shares have stalled since 2024’s rebound, lacking the longer-term catalyst of strong China demand, but with sales in America growing strongly and like-for-likes improving overall there seems to be more fuel for gains from here.”
Barratt Redrow was among the best performers as the housebuilder rose in sympathy with Persimmon, which provided a surprisingly upbeat update that ran counter to Taylor Wimpey’s gloomier statement released earlier this week. Barratt’s rose 4% on Thursday.
3I was another source of optimism for traders after the trust increased its dividend by 16% and boosted its stake in its largest and most successful holding, Action. 3I shares rose 5%.
Growth across Rolls-Royce’s key divisions, including a 62% increase in the power division orderbook in the first nine months of the year, helped shares rise 2%.
In addition to strong corporate updates, UK investors were encouraged by better-than-expected UK GDP growth, even if things could soften through the winter.
“UK growth remained remarkably resilient in the third quarter, with GDP expanding by 0.7%. September’s 0.2% rise also shows the economy entered the autumn with a little more momentum than expected,” explained Felix Feather, Economist, at Aberdeen.
“But we doubt this pace will last. Higher energy bills will increasingly squeeze households’ real incomes over the winter, while tighter monetary policy will also weigh on activity. We therefore expect growth to slow meaningfully into 2027.”
The FTSE 100 was 0.3% higher at the time of writing.
