FTSE 100 hits record high on boost from oil stocks, upbeat earnings
23/10/2025 13:21
For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window FTSE 100 up 0.6%, FTSE 250 up 0.1% Oil stocks rise as crude jumps 5% LSEG, Rentokil climb after earnings Oct 23 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 touched an intraday record high on Thursday, lifted by oil stocks and positive results from blue-chip firms such as LSEG and Rentokil. The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 index .FTSE rose as much as 0.7% to a record high of 9,579.07 points. It was trading up 0.6% by 1200 GMT. Oil majors Shell SHEL.L and BP BP.L gained about 3% each, as crude prices LCOc1, CLc1 jumped more than 5% after the U.S. imposed sanctions on major Russian suppliers Rosneft ROSN.MM and Lukoil LKOH.MM over the Ukraine war. O/R In earnings, 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 11.8% after the pest control firm reported a better-than-expected rise in quarterly organic revenue. A largely upbeat earnings season, 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 0.1%, trading at a near four-year high. An index of UK precious metal miners .FTNMX551030 advanced 4.5%, 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 1.2%, despite a rise in a key revenue metric as growth slowed in US markets. St James's Place SJP.L shed 4% as the fund manager forecast weaker flows for the fourth quarter. Renishaw RSW.L fell 6% to the bottom of the FTSE 250 index after the engineering firm posted weak quarterly sales. (Reporting by Avinash P in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber) ((Avinash.P@thomsonreuters.com;))