FTSE 100 ends at record high, boosted by oil and earnings (updated)
23/10/2025 17:11
FTSE 100 up 0.7%, FTSE 250 up 0.6% Oil stocks rise as crude surges around 5% LSEG, Rentokil climb after earnings Updates after markets close Oct 23 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 index closed at a record high on Thursday, lifted by oil stocks and positive results from blue-chip firms such as the London Stock Exchange Group and Rentokil. The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 index .FTSE rose as much as 0.8% to a record high of 9,594.82 points during the session, before ending up 0.7%. Oil majors Shell SHEL.L and BP BP.L gained 3.2% and 3.8% respectively, as crude prices LCOc1, CLc1 rose nearly 5% after the U.S. imposed sanctions on major Russian suppliers Rosneft ROSN.MM and Lukoil LKOH.MM over the Ukraine war. O/R On the earnings front, the London Stock Exchange Group LSEG.L jumped 6.7% after the exchange operator said it would sell 20% of its post-trade services business, announced a surprise 1 billion pound ($1.34 billion) buyback and reported better-than-expected third-quarter results. Rentokil RTO.L jumped 9.8% after the pest control firm reported a better-than-expected rise in quarterly organic revenue. A largely upbeat earnings season, a jump in commodity stocks and signs of cooling inflation that supported bets of a Bank of England interest rate cut have supported UK equity markets this week. The FTSE 100 is on track for its best weekly performance since mid-April. The FTSE midcap index of domestically oriented stocks .FTMC rose 0.6%, ending at a near four-year high. An index of UK precious metal miners .FTNMX551030 advanced 3.7%, tracking gold prices, as U.S. sanctions against Russia and possible new export controls on China stoked geopolitical concerns, buoying demand for safe-haven assets. GOL/ On the downside, Holiday Inn owner InterContinental Hotels IHG.L dipped 1.5% as slowing growth in U.S. markets overshadowed a rise in a key revenue metric. Molten Ventures GROW.L jumped 14.6% to the top of the FTSE 250 after the VC firm forecast 7.2% growth in its net asset value. AJ Bell AJBA.L fell 2.4% to the bottom of FTSE 250 after the investment platform reported outflows of 1.5 billion pounds ($2.01 billion) at the end of September in its advised platform segment, resulting in lower sequential net inflows. (Reporting by Avinash P in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Andrew Heavens) ((Avinash.P@thomsonreuters.com;))