The FTSE 100 is down 0.7% on Thursday morning, weighed down in part by a number of blue-chip stocks trading ex-dividend, including Legal & General, Fresnillo, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Hiscox, Spirax Group and Rightmove.
The FTSE 250 is off 0.9%, Germany’s DAX is down 0.5%, while France’s CAC 40 is bucking the trend, up 0.3%.
BP and Shell are nudging higher, up 0.5% and 0.7% respectively, as oil prices climb amid continued fragility in the Middle East ceasefire.
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SSE leads the FTSE 100 risers at +1.4%, followed by Metlen Energy & Metals at +1.3% and Reckitt Benckiser at +1.2%. Fresnillo and Legal & General are the joint-biggest fallers, both down 5.3%, with Entain close behind at -5%.
Sainsbury’s shares are under pressure after the supermarket’s preliminary results for the 52 weeks ended 28 February 2026, with the company cautioning that the Middle East conflict is creating uncertainty for both its customers and its business, weighing on the profitability outlook.
On a brighter note, London Stock Exchange Group upgraded its full-year guidance, now targeting organic constant currency income growth of 6.5-7.5%, with management flagging a strong start to 2026 and expecting growth to come in at the upper end of that range.
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