Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 28, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 25, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleFTSE 100 hits record close in February, driven by strong earnings from IAG and IMI, despite mid-cap challenges. UK house prices rise unexpectedly.
(Reuters) -The UK's benchmark FTSE 100 share index posted its highest close on record on Friday, buoyed by positive corporate earnings including from British Airways parent IAG, while a slump in Morgan Advanced Materials after a bleak outlook weighed on the mid-cap index.
The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.6%, also helped by a weaker pound, to end February 1.5% higher after a 6% rise in January.
British engineering firm IMI rose 6.2%, the biggest gainer on the index, after hiking its dividend 10% and announcing a new share buyback plan.
IAG shares rose 4% to their highest in five years, after annual operating profit surged an estimate-beating 27% and the company announced a share buyback.
Weir Group was up 6.3% on a near 10% rise in adjusted annual profit. The engineering firm is set to buy Micromine, a software provider to the mining industry, for 657 million pounds.
The FTSE 250 midcap index fell 0.4% with shares of semiconductor parts supplier Morgan Advanced Materials tumbling 16.2% after the company forecast a drop in organic revenue this year.
A gauge of homebuilders gained 2.1% after data showed British house prices rose by a stronger-than-expected 0.4% in February from the previous month.
Britain's biggest property portal Rightmove gained 4.3% after forecasting bigger revenue growth in 2025.
Other European stock markets came under pressure this week after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% on Chinese goods.
Wall Street's main indexes rose in choppy trading on Friday, rebounding from several sessions of declines.
(Reporting by Sanchayaita Roy, Ragini Mathur and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid, Kirsten Donovan)
The FTSE 100 share index posted its highest close on record, ending February 1.5% higher after a 6% rise in January.
Positive corporate earnings from British Airways parent IAG and engineering firms like IMI and Weir Group contributed significantly to the FTSE 100's record close.
The FTSE 100 rose 0.6% due in part to a weaker pound, benefiting exporter-heavy companies on the index.
The FTSE 250 midcap index fell 0.4%, largely due to a significant drop in shares of Morgan Advanced Materials.
Data showed British house prices rose by a stronger-than-expected 0.4% in February, which positively impacted the gauge of homebuilders.
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