FTSE 100 Modestly Higher As Investors Focus On Earnings

(RTTNews) - The U.K. stock market's benchmark index FTSE 100 gained modest ground in positive territory Thursday morning, with investors largely reacting to corporate earnings announcements, while continuing to closely track geopolitical developments.

After the Federal Reserve's decision to leave interest rate unchanged on Wednesday, the European Central Bank is widely expected to hold rates today.

The FTSE 100, which climbed to 10,759.02, was up 37.45 points or 0.35% at 10,731.95 a few minutes before noon.

Shell rallied 3.5%. The British oil and gas giant hiked its quarterly share buyback to $5 billion after nearly doubling its quarterly year-year adjusted earnings and reported record refining margins.

In the third quarter, Shell's income attributable to shareholders reached $12.057 billion, compared with $5.322 billion a year ago. Earnings per share came in at $2.13 for the third quarter, up from $0.90 last year.

Advertising group WPP climbed nearly 2.5% after logging a year-on-year increase in revenue for the third quarter and confirming its FY26 outlook.

Haleon tanked nearly 16% after the company trimmed its annual revenue outlook. For full-year 2026, Haleon now expects organic revenue growth of around 2.5%, down from its previous forecast of 3% to 5%. The company continues to expect high-single-digit growth in adjusted operating profit at constant currency.

The consumer healthcare company reported a 2.5% increase in third-quarter revenue to £2.868 billion, with organic revenue growth of 2.6%.

BAE Systems, 3i Group, BP, Melrose Industries, ICG, Babcock International, Aviva, British Land, IAG, Barratt Redrow, Next, Marks & Spencer, Whitbread, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Sainsbury (J) are up 1.3%-3%.

Lender Lloyds Banking dropped 4.7% despite reporting a notable jump in third-quarter earnings.

Commodities group Glencore drifted down 2% after maintaining its full-year 2026 production guidance.

St. James's Place dropped 6%. Metlen Energy, Natwest Group, Antofagasta, Computacenter, Polar Capital Technology Trust and GSK also drifted lower.

Data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Limited (SMMT) showed car production in the UK surged by 38.6% year-on-year to 70,831 units in September, marking the strongest September output since 2023 and accelerating from a 6.1% rise in August.

A report from the Bank of England showed net borrowing of consumer credit by UK individuals fell to £1.9 billion in September, down from an upwardly revised £2.7 billion in August and below market expectations of £2.2 billion.