26th Feb 2026 06:53
(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 is set for a subdued open on Thursday, after a sharp rise on Wednesday, as investors digest the latest batch of earnings from Nvidia.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open just 0.7 points higher at 10,807.11 on Thursday. The index of London large-caps closed up 125.82 points, 1.2% at 10,806.41 on Wednesday. It was the FTSE 100's loftiest one-day rise in a week, and the second best of the month so far.
The pound traded at USD1.3555, up from USD1.3537 late Wednesday. The euro rose to USD1.1818 from USD1.1804. Against the yen, the dollar bought JPY155.99, down from JPY156.39.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury narrowed to 4.04% from 4.05%. The 30-year yield was steady at 4.69%.
"As is often the case, when huge event risk is looming large, participants have very little desire to do much at all, which is almost exactly what we saw in the run-up to earnings from Nvidia after the market close. Not helping matters was the very thin nature of both data- and news-flow," Pepperstone analyst Michael Brown commented.
In New York on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6%, the S&P 500 rose 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.3%.
Nvidia edged up 0.2% after hours. It reported better than expected fourth quarter revenue, driven by 75% growth in its key Data Center business.
Nvidia reported net income of USD42.96 billion in its fourth quarter ended January 25, up 94% from USD22.09 billion a year ago. Diluted earnings per share was USD1.76, up 98% from USD0.89.
Revenue totalled USD68.13 billion, up 73% from USD39.33 billion last year, and ahead of the USD66.21 billion LSEG consensus.
In the current quarter, revenue is expected to be USD78.0 billion, plus or minus 2%, up from USD44.1 billion a year ago. Nvidia said it does not include any Data Center compute revenue from China in its outlook.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.2% in late trade. The Shanghai Composite was down 0.1% while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was down 1.0%. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5%.
A barrel of Brent edged down to USD70.72 early Thursday, from USD70.76 at the time of the London equities close on Wednesday. Gold edged down to USD5,195.62 an ounce from USD5,204.64.
Thursday's global economic calendar has US initial jobless claims data at 1330 GMT, after a eurozone consumer confidence reading at 1000.
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 Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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