Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on October 23, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleFTSE 100 hits a record high, led by oil stocks and strong earnings. Shell and BP gain as crude prices rise, while Rentokil reports strong revenue growth.
(Reuters) -London's FTSE 100 index closed at a record high on Thursday, lifted by oil stocks and positive results from blue-chip firms such as the London Stock Exchange Group and Rentokil.
The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 index rose as much as 0.8% to a record high of 9,594.82 points during the session, before ending up 0.7%.
Oil majors Shell and BP gained 3.2% and 3.8% respectively, as crude prices rose nearly 5% after the U.S. imposed sanctions on major Russian suppliers Rosneft and Lukoil over the Ukraine war. [O/R]
On the earnings front, the London Stock Exchange Group jumped 6.7% after the exchange operator said it would sell 20% of its post-trade services business, announced a surprise 1 billion pound ($1.34 billion) buyback and reported better-than-expected third-quarter results.
Rentokil jumped 9.8% after the pest control firm reported a better-than-expected rise in quarterly organic revenue.
A largely upbeat earnings season, a jump in commodity stocks and signs of cooling inflation that supported bets of a Bank of England interest rate cut have supported UK equity markets this week. The FTSE 100 is on track for its best weekly performance since mid-April.
The FTSE midcap index of domestically oriented stocks rose 0.6%, ending at a near four-year high.
An index of UK precious metal miners advanced 3.7%, tracking gold prices, as U.S. sanctions against Russia and possible new export controls on China stoked geopolitical concerns, buoying demand for safe-haven assets. [GOL/]
On the downside, Holiday Inn owner InterContinental Hotels dipped 1.5% as slowing growth in U.S. markets overshadowed a rise in a key revenue metric.
Molten Ventures jumped 14.6% to the top of the FTSE 250 after the VC firm forecast 7.2% growth in its net asset value.
AJ Bell fell 2.4% to the bottom of FTSE 250 after the investment platform reported outflows of 1.5 billion pounds ($2.01 billion) at the end of September in its advised platform segment, resulting in lower sequential net inflows.
(Reporting by Avinash P in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Andrew Heavens)
The FTSE 100 is a stock market index that represents the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, measured by market capitalization.
Oil stocks are shares in companies involved in the exploration, extraction, refining, and selling of oil and gas products. They can be affected by fluctuations in oil prices.
A buyback occurs when a company purchases its own shares from the marketplace, reducing the number of outstanding shares and often increasing the share price.
Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises, eroding purchasing power. It is typically measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
A market index is a measurement of the performance of a group of stocks, representing a segment of the stock market. It helps investors gauge market trends.
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