London close: FTSE 100 holds onto gains to finish in the black

12th Nov 2026 14:41

(Sharecast News) - London stocks held onto gains on Thursday to close in the black, supported by some well-received corporate updates alongside data showing the UK economy grew at the fastest pace in two years in the third quarter.

The FTSE 100 closed up 0.25% at 10,863.09, while oil prices, which have been on a largely downward trajectory since the Democrat's landslide in the midterm elections - nudged higher. Brent crude was up 1% at $93.78 and West Texas Intermediate was largely flat at $86.85. Gold and silver prices were lower, weighing on mining stocks.

Patrick Munnelly, partner, market strategy, at TickMill Group, said: "UK equities extended their recovery into a second session as blockbuster results from Burberry and B&M, major capital returns from Rolls-Royce and 3i, and resilient Q3 GDP growth outweighed a broad slump in mining shares.

"While afternoon profit-taking trimmed the benchmark's early surge toward 10,980, strong corporate fundamentals and steady domestic expansion kept the FTSE 100 comfortably above the 10,800 threshold."

Overseas, and news was dominated by Nvidia co-founder and chief executive Jensen Huang resigning with immediate effect, days after it first emerged he had been in a relationship with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy. The news initially sent shares in the $4.2trn chip giant sharply lower before the stock started to rebound. Huang has led the company for more than 30 years and is widely recognised as one of the architects of the artificial intelligence boom. He is being replaced on a temporary basis by chief financial officer Colette Kress.

Back home, and the session started with positive news about the UK economy. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the economy grew by a robust 0.7% in the last quarter despite war in the Middle East pushing up energy prices and undermining sentiment.

The dominant services sector drove growth in the three months to September. Output rose 0.9%, and helped offset a 0.7% slide in construction. Production output edged up 0.1%.

Chief economist Grant Fitzner said: "The economy grew robustly almost entirely due to strong and widespread growth in the services sector.

"Computer programming again increased strongly, as it has all year, registering its fastest growth in the last three years. We continue to see evidence that AI-linked businesses helped to boost the sector.

"Leasing of cars, intellectual property and property management companies also helped to boost services, alongside increases in accountancy, employment agencies and car dealerships."

Monthly GDP grew by 0.2%, compared to a downwardly revised no growth in August.

Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said: "It's quite a turnaround in fortunes for an economy that has so been tarnished with a reputation of sluggishness but it also cements expectations for an interest rate hike in February, as the Bank of England policymakers have been fretting about the rising inflation and this rate of growth could fuel it."

In a busy session for corporate news, on equity markets Burberry surged after the luxury fashion brand said it swung to an interim profit of £19m from a loss of £48m in the same period a year earlier.

Rolls-Royce rose as the engine maker announced a £1.5bn share buyback and said that strong operational, strategic and financial progress in the second half of the year give the group further confidence in its full-year guidance of £4.7bn-£4.9bn of underlying operating profit and £3.8bn-£4bn of free cash flow.

B&M European Value Retail shot up as it introduced guidance for FY27 as it said its 'back to basics' campaign was bearing fruit, with UK stores showing a return to like-for-like sales growth.

Housebuilder Persimmon rose after saying it still expects to trade in line with expectations despite pressures on buyers and rising costs due to the war on Iran.

On the downside, shares of iconic bootmaker Dr Martens tumbled as it conceded that its first-half performance had been "disappointing", with group revenue down 9% at constant currency.

WH Smith also fell as the retailer reported a drop in full-year profit, in line with expectations as it presses ahead with its transformation, although revenue rose.

Precious metals miner Fresnillo lost its shine, along with gold miner Endeavour, amid lower precious metal prices. The latter was also in focus after third-quarter results.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,863.09 0.25%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,916.84 -0.03%

techMARK (TASX) 6,247.72 -0.06%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,180.50p 8.01%

3i Group (III) 2,710.00p 5.65%

Land Securities Group (LAND) 696.00p 2.13%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,369.60p 2.01%

United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,570.00p 1.95%

Rentokil Initial (RTO) 358.00p 1.94%

National Grid (NG.) 1,267.00p 1.52%

BT Group (BT.A) 216.60p 1.50%

Croda International (CRDA) 3,758.00p 1.49%

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 330.60p 1.47%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Babcock International Group (BAB) 995.40p -4.29%

ICG (ICG) 1,880.00p -3.79%

Fresnillo (FRES) 2,444.00p -2.98%

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,208.00p -2.82%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,217.00p -2.78%

Spirax Group (SPX) 7,450.00p -2.23%

Anglo American (AAL) 3,828.00p -1.95%

Halma (HLMA) 3,514.00p -1.40%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 452.10p -1.40%

BAE Systems (BA.) 1,896.00p -1.12%

FTSE 250 - Risers

B&M European Value Retail (BME) 337.40p 20.93%

Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 302.50p 4.67%

Persimmon (PSN) 1,293.00p 3.23%

NCC Group (NCC) 159.80p 2.96%

EnQuest (ENQ) 27.85p 2.77%

International Workplace Group (IWG) 219.80p 2.61%

Softcat (SCT) 1,694.00p 2.54%

Michael Page (PAGE) 212.00p 2.51%

Bellway (BWY) 2,310.00p 1.94%

Moonpig Group (MOON) 286.60p 1.92%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Dr. Martens (DOCS) 54.10p -14.67%

Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,778.00p -8.46%

Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 646.50p -8.17%

Volex (VLX) 527.00p -7.05%

WH Smith (SMWH) 398.60p -6.69%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 450.20p -4.62%

QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 500.00p -4.40%

Genus (GNS) 2,294.00p -4.02%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 264.60p -3.85%

Premier Foods (PFD) 195.60p -3.65%