25th Feb 2026 17:07
(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 reached fresh heights on Wednesday, with well-received results from HSBC, and gains in mining stocks, paving the way for another record-breaking day.
"The strong showing from the UK stock market so far in 2026, on top of a major success in 2025, bodes well for changing its reputation from unloved to admired," commented Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
The FTSE 100 index ended up 125.82 points, 1.2%, at 10,806.41, a record close and its best level for the day.
The FTSE 250 ended up 135.85 points, 0.6%, at 23,636.89, and the AIM All-Share closed up 1.26 points, 0.2%, at 816.79.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 1.1% at 1,075.78, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.3% higher at 20,886.82, and the Cboe Small Companies Index advanced 0.3% at 18,419.05.
London's brighter mood was reflected elsewhere in Europe.
The CAC 40 in Paris closed up 0.5% on Wednesday, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended 0.8% higher.
Stocks in New York were also higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4%, the S&P 500 index was 0.6% higher, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.0%.
Across the pond all eyes point towards earnings from Nvidia, due for release after the New York market close.
David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, said: "Tonight's results will focus initially on revenues and earnings. In prior quarters, Nvidia has often surprised investors with bullish forward guidance, and if there's good news here, then that should underpin the share price.
"But data centre revenue, chip demand and hyperscale cloud spending are all important elements, while competition (another recent issue) and margins will also be poured over by analysts."
The pound was little changed at USD1.3537 on Wednesday afternoon, from USD1.3536 at the equities close on Tuesday.
The euro stood higher at USD1.1804, from USD1.1787. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JPY156.39, compared to JPY155.71.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury widened to 4.05% on Wednesday from 4.04% on Tuesday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was flat at 4.69%.
In London, shares in HSBC hit an all-time high after better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.
The 7.9% gain took the Asia-focused lender's market value to GBP239.29 billion, overtaking AstraZeneca as the most valuable listed UK company.
Cambridge-based drugs firm AstraZeneca has a market value of a touch below GBP236 billion after falling 0.7% on Wednesday, with oil major Shell, up 1.3%, a distant third at GBP169.72 billion.
For the fourth quarter of 2025, HSBC said adjusted pretax profit rose to USD8.59 billion from USD7.32 billion a year ago, ahead of USD7.85 billion consensus.
JPMorgan said the profit beat was driven by strong banking net interest income, and impairments coming in 12% lower than forecast.
Banking NII of USD11.72 billion in the quarter was up from USD10.95 billion a year ago, and ahead of USD11.06 billion consensus.
Looking ahead, Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery said HSBC is "raising our ambition and targeting a 17% [return on tangible equity] or better, excluding notable items, in each year from 2026 to 2028."
"We are also targeting year-on-year revenue growth over the same period on the same basis, rising to 5% in 2028," he added.
JPM said the new targets are slightly above consensus expectations for annual revenue growth of 4.2% in 2028.
Consensus for RoTE in 2026 is 16.6%, 17.0% in 2027 and 16.6% in 2028, JPM noted.
Citi analyst Andrew Coombs said it was "a good print," with "potential for high-single digit consensus EPS upgrades."
Mining stocks were also in demand as metals prices rose.
Gold firmed to USD5,204.64 an ounce on Wednesday from USD5,142.02 on Tuesday. Silver rose 4.1%, and copper gained 0.9%.
Miners Fresnillo, Antofagasta and Anglo American rose 7.3%, 5.7% and 4.4% respectively.
Also in the green was St James's Place, after it said it will increase shareholder returns after reporting better-than-expected 2025 results.
The London-based asset manager rose 6.6%, as it reported a post-tax underlying cash result of GBP462.3 million in 2025, up 3.4% from GBP447.2 million the year prior, and ahead of GBP445.5 million company-compiled consensus. Pretax profit increased 28% to GBP1.34 billion from GBP1.05 billion.
Post-tax underlying cash basic earnings per share of 87.0 pence, increased 6.1% from 82.0p, ahead of 84.2p consensus.
In addition, the firm intends to increase total annual shareholder distributions to 70% (from 50%) of the underlying cash result through a combination of dividends and share buy-backs.
But Diageo shareholders had a day to forget, as shares plunged 13% after it cut full-year sales guidance and slashed its dividend.
London-based Diageo operates in over 180 countries with a portfolio of over 200 brands, including top sellers like Johnnie Walker whisky, Smirnoff vodka, Tanqueray gin, and Guinness stout.
It said net sales fell 4.0% on-year to USD10.46 billion in the six months to December 31, from USD10.90 billion a year ago, below VA consensus of USD10.57 billion.
Sales declined 2.8% on an organic basis, compared to VA consensus for a 2.0% drop, with organic volumes down 0.9% and a negative price/mix of 1.9%.
"Trading conditions remained challenging in the first half of the year. We believe this was largely due to further macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, and weak consumer confidence in key markets," the company said in a statement.
For the financial year, Diageo now expects a full-year organic net sales decline of 2% to 3%, "given further weakness in the US". It had previously predicted an outcome between "flat to slightly down".
In addition, the firm halved its first-half payout to 20 cents per share from 40.50 cents a year prior.
New Chief Executive Dave Lewis said he is "confident that this is the right action" to "drive stronger shareholder value over the coming years."
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: "There is no point trying to dress up the six-month figures. These are awful results, and the repair job is massive."
On the FTSE 250, Trainline shares buckled as Chief Executive Jody Ford signalled his departure.
Shares in the London-based digital rail and coach ticketing platform fell 7.5%, as it said Ford intends to step down as CEO after more than six years at the company.
A formal search process to find his successor has begun, the firm added.
Brent oil traded lower at USD70.76 a barrel on Wednesday afternoon, from USD71.16 late Tuesday.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were HSBC, up 102.60p at 1,394.00p, Metlen Energy & Metals, up 2.70p at 37.65p, Fresnillo, up 294.00p at 4,326.00p, St James's Place, up 83.50p at 1,343.00p and Relx, up 142.00p at 2,415.00p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Diageo, down 238.00p at 1,636.00p, Haleon, down 27.80p at 377.90p, Croda, down 99.00p at 3,113.00p, Babcock International, down 29.00p at 1,374.00p and Tesco, down 8.30p at 492.20p.
Thursday's global economic calendar has US initial jobless claims data.
Thursday's domestic corporate calendar has full-year results from jet engine maker Rolls-Royce, advertising agency WPP, exchange operator and data provider, London Stock Exchange and kitchen supplier Howden Joinery.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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