UK stocks are swinging between gains and losses on Thursday with investors largely staying cautious, while keeping an eye on news from the Middle East.
Travel-related stocks are having a tough outing due to airspace closures in the Middle East region forcing carriers to cancel tens of thousands of flights over the past one week.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 7.65 points or 0.08% at 10,575.30 a little over half an hour past noon. The index, which dropped to 10,525.95 in early trades, recovered to 10,637.75 before paring gains.
Rentokil Initial is soaring nearly 12% after reporting higher annual profits. Admiral Group is surging 4% as it posted record profits despite a challenging economic backdrop.
Entain is climbing up 5.3%, and Weir Group is advancing 4.15%. Mondi is up 3.1%.
Convatec Group, JD Sports Fashion, Intertek Group, Airtel Africa, Centrica, Bunzl, DCC, Standard Chartered, United Utilities, BT Group, Diploma, Prudential and Halma are also up with strong gains.
Reckitt Benckiser is down more than 5% after maintaining its revenue growth targets for this fiscal year.
Aviva is down by about 3% despite meeting 2025 profit targets.
3i Group, Rio Tinto, Aviva, Easyjet, IAG, Metlen Energy & Metals, British American Tobacco, St. James’s Place and BAE Systems are down 1%-3.3%.
Data from S&P Global showed the S&P Global UK Construction PMI fell to 44.5 in February of 2026 from 46.4 in the previous month, contrasting with expectations that it would improve slightly to 47 to reflect a deeper contraction in the British construction activity.
UK new car sales rose 7.2% year-on-year to 90,100 units in February 2026, marking the highest February volume in 22 years, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The surge was largely driven by private retail registrations, which climbed 17.6% to 35,227 units.
Market Analysis
FTSE 100 Up Marginally In Cautious Trading
2026-03-05 12:51:06
