Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 17, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 26, 2026
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FTSE 100 rose 0.4% as defence stocks surged, while a Supreme Court ruling negatively impacted some UK banks. BAE Systems led the gains.
(Reuters) - Britain's benchmark index closed higher on Monday, supported by aerospace and defence stocks, while some banks slid after the Supreme Court rejected a move by finance minister Rachel Reeves to intervene in a car loan mis-selling case.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed 0.4% higher, while the more domestically focused midcap FTSE 250 edged up 0.1%.
Defence company BAE Systems jumped nearly 9% to the top of the blue-chip index, riding the coattails of rising defence stocks across Europe.
The UK's aerospace and defence index led sectoral gains, rising 4.5% as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his country's national security was facing a generational challenge and that it was crucial for all of Europe to spend more on defence.
Head of the EU executive Ursula von der Leyen also said the European Commission will propose exempting defence from EU limits on government spending, at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump has asked European members of security group NATO to finance their own defence against a potential Russian attack.
European leaders met in Paris for an emergency summit on Ukraine after U.S. officials suggested Europe would have no role in any upcoming talks aimed at ending the conflict with Russia.
Investors priced in the likelihood of increased government bond issuance to fund military spending, sending yields on UK's 2-year benchmark bond to their highest in two weeks.
Higher yields weighed on real estate-related stocks such as Segro and Land Securities, which dropped 2% and 0.8% respectively. On the other hand, banks gained 1.2%.
Lenders Close Brothers <CBRO.L> fell 8% and Lloyds <LLOY.L> declined 1.9% however after the UK Supreme Court rejected finance minister Rachel Reeves' attempt to intervene in a case on car loan mis-selling. The two are among a number of lenders with motor finance businesses.
Assura jumped 9% after the British healthcare property developer rejected a 1.56 billion pound ($2 billion) proposal from KKR and pension fund Universities Superannuation Scheme.
Engineering firm John Wood Group fell 10.8% to a record low after it forecast a negative cash flow for another year in the previous session.
text_section_type="notes" For related prices, Reuters users may click on - * UK stock report [.L] FTSE index: techMARK 100 index: FTSE futures: Gilt futures: Smallcap index: FTSE 250 index: FTSE 350 index: Market digest: Top 10 by vol: Top price gainers: Top % gainers: Top price losers: Top % losers: * For related news, click on - * UK hot stocks: [HOT] and [GB] Wall Street: [.N] Gilts report: [GB/] Euro bond report [GVD/EUR] Pan European stock report: [.EU] Tokyo stocks: [.T] HK stocks: [.HK] Sterling report: [GBP/] Dollar report: [USD/] * For company prices, click on - * Company directory: By sector: * For pan-European market data, click on - * European Equities speed guide................ FTSE Eurotop 300 index........................... DJ STOXX index................................... Top 10 STOXX sectors........................ Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors................... Top 10 Eurotop 300 sectors.................. Top 25 European pct gainers.................... Top 25 European pct losers.....................
(Reporting by Nikhil Sharma; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Jan Harvey)
The main topic is the rise of the FTSE 100 index driven by defence stocks and the impact of a Supreme Court ruling on UK banks.
Defence stocks, led by BAE Systems, surged, contributing to the FTSE 100's rise.
The ruling negatively affected some UK banks involved in a motor finance mis-selling case.
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