- falls 47 points to 10,355
- UK car sales growth slows
- , , and updates released
9.45am: UK car sales growth dips
Private new car registrations were up 4.5% year-on-year in January, down from a 16.0% gain in December.
Total registrations, including business and fleet sales, climed 3.4%, down from 3.9%, according to the latest numbers from the industry’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) body.
Battery electric vehicle (BEV) volumes hummed slightly higher but market share was down compared with last year.
The industry’s new outlook anticipates market growth of 1.4% in 2026, with EV share expected to rise to 28.5%. This is a more optimistic outlook than the last one, published in October.
An increasing choice of car models and the reintroduction of government support through the Electric Car Grant has helped strengthen the outlook for BEV uptake.
“Britain’s new car market is building back momentum after a challenging start to the decade,” says Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive.
Despite a January dip in EV market share, the signs point to growth by the end of the year, he adds.
“The pace of the transition, however, may be slowing and is certainly behind mandated targets. With sales of new pure petrol and diesel cars planned to end in less than four years, there needs to be a comprehensive review of the transition now, to ensure ambition can match reality.”
9.23am: Gilts shifted by UK politics
UK politics (amidst headlines such as ’Labour MPs say Starmer’s days as PM are numbered amid fury over Mandelson’) are having an effect on financial markets.
There has been a “modest bump” in recent UK gilt pricing, notes Simon French at Panmure Liberum, equivalent to 10-15 basis points in the spread to the G7 max/median.
“These spreads are the simplest measures to track perceived market risk from a change in Labour leadership to a more inflationary, higher-issuance economic model.
“This suggests some growing unease around political developments in Westminster, but not yet a clear signal of expecting a successful leadership challenge before the local elections, and a pivot, economically, to the left.
“This is probably the right conclusion as the various potential alternatives – at least those with shadow campaigns underway – are focused on the May elections, so breaking cover ahead of that would not fit with the Gantt chart (Labour advisers tend to be better with those than with gilt pricing).”
8.56am: Future backs outlook despite AI pressure
Shares in are down over 5% in early trading after the website and magazine publisher reaffirmed it is on course to meet full-year expectations, amidst continued pressure across parts of its digital and comparison businesses.
The FTSE 250-listed company reported broadly in-line performance for the four months to 31 January, with revenue trends expected to improve in the second half.
Direct digital advertising revenue rose year-on-year in both the UK and the US, but programmatic advertising and e-commerce revenue remain challenged due to lower audience numbers. Print magazine sales continued to show resilience.
Analyst Johnathan Barrett at Panmure Liberum says audience softness, partly attributed to AI absorbing a chunk of search volumes, was weighing on programmatic advertising, with total first-half digital advertising expected to decline by “at least a couple of points”.
8.29am: Shell down but ’still on front foot’
Shell shares are down 1.5% this morning.
The latest quarter “wasn’t spotless”, says Mark Crouch, market analyst for eToro, with income down by 22% on the previous quarter and adjusted earnings down 40%.
He feels the oil giant “remains firmly on the front foot,” as shown by another $3.5 billion share buyback being loaded up to highlight the strength of underlying cash flows (though these were not enough to stop debt from rising).
Crouch says the energy sector is the best-performing of 2026 so far, with capital rotating into the space even as oil and gas prices remain historically on the low side.
“Shell’s shares are trading close to all-time highs regardless, reflecting balance sheet strength, reliable cash generation and renewed upside potential in the share price. Progress on major projects in Australia and Brazil adds further visibility to medium-term growth,” he says.
Richard Hunter at Interactive Investor notes that cash flow from operating activities for the whole year fell 22% to $42.9 billion, while net debt increased to $45.69 billion from a previous $38.8 billion.
Despite heightened geopolitical tensions, he says Shell is “now undergoing more conservative capital expenditure, guiding for a range of between $20 billion and $22 billion for this year, thus underpinning shareholder returns”.
“In addition, its diversity of operations across oil, gas, chemicals, and retailing regularly allows one area of strength to counter another of weakness.
“Management’s previous estimate that the dividend could be sustained even with the oil price as low as $40 per barrel – currently around $68 – is noteworthy, while a focus on reducing costs continues.”
Hunter says the shares have done well to increase 8% over the last year, compared to a gain of 21% for the wider FTSE 100, amidst a dip of around 9% in the oil price over that time.
“Some investors are unwilling or unable to invest in oil stocks on ethical grounds, but the company remains a core constituent in many traditional portfolios alongside the old adage of ’never sell Shell’. Investor enthusiasm for prospects on the immediate outlook may have cooled, but the market consensus of Shell as a cautious buy remains in place, with the group still preferred over major rival BP.”
8.15am: FTSE opens lower as Compass and Vodafone disappoint
The FTSE 100 has opened down 35 points at 10,367, led by Compass and Vodafone.
Compass shares have tumbled 7.7% despite posting what it called a strong start to its new financial year.
Vodafone, as noted below, reported organic service revenues below forecasts for the UK and Germany, with the shares falling 5.5% after a strong run in the past year.
8am: Vodafone sticks to guidance despite weaker Q3 revenues
Vodafone Group PLC said it expects to deliver at the upper end of its profit and cash flow targets for the year, even as service revenue in key markets missed expectations for the third quarter.
The telecoms group reported service revenue up 5.4% on an organic basis in the past quarter, down from 5.8% in the second quarter and below the City’s forecast of 6.0%.
In the UK, revenue slipped 0.5%, which it said was expected, but Germany, the group’s largest market, growth was well short of forecasts at just 0.1%.
7.50am: Shell launches another buyback, debt rises
Shell PLC reported its lowest quarterly profit since the start of 2021 as oil prices fell, but announced a 4% dividend increase and launched another $3.5 billion share buyback.
Adjusted earnings came in at $3.26 billion for the fourth quarter of 2025, down 40% and below analyst expectations of $3.5 billion.
Net debt rose to $45.7 billion at year-end, up from $41.2 billion at the end of the third quarter.
7.32am: BT results in line
BT Group PLC reported lower revenue and profit for the past quarter but said it is making progress on its turnaround strategy and is on track to meet its financial outlook for the year.
In a trading update for its third quarter to end-December, the telecoms group reported revenue of £4.98 billion, down 4% compared to the previous year and slightly below City forecasts of £5.1 billion.
Adjusted EBITDA of £2.1 billion was down 1%, but in line with expectations. Earnings were broadly flat if excluding the impact of one-off factors, with lower revenue offset by continued strong cost transformation.
7.15am: FTSE 100 to start lower ahead of BoE meeting
The FTSE 100 has been predicted to start lower on Thursday, retreating from its new record highs ahead of the Bank of England meeting later.
Futures have indicated an 18-point decline for the London index, a day after it gained almost 88 points to finish at a closing high of 10,402.34, though below its intraday highs.
Wall Street played out a mixed session overnight, with leading the laggards as it slid 1.5%, weighed down by a continued selloff in software and tech stocks, which also saw the S&P 500 dip 0.5%. The climbed 0.5%, buoyed by defensive and industrial shares.
Asian stocks are mixed this morning, led by the in Seoul, with Japan’s and India’s both lower but the higher.