Wednesday, 28 October 2026
- FIVE AT FIVE: Healey's Budget gives markets an easy ride, banks surge and the FTSE 100 closes just above the line
That's your lot for Wednesday
- Markets gave the Chancellor an easy ride, with gambling and banking shares the main winners
John Healey's first Budget passed without a market wobble, as the tax rises in the firing line proved less painful than feared.
- Bank shares jump 4% after Budget surcharge comes in below feared 8%
Shares in Barclays, NatWest and Lloyds rose about 4% after Chancellor John Healey announced a temporary increase in the bank surcharge, as relief spread…
- Mid-morning markets: Budget day nerves, GSK and Hunting disappoint and Asia's chip stocks surge
The FTSE 100 is trading 28 points lower on Wednesday, with investors sitting on their hands ahead of Chancellor John Healey's maiden Budget speech later in the…
- Hunting shares drop 12% as Middle East conflict forces profit warning
Shares in Hunting, the FTSE 250 oil and gas equipment maker, fell 12% to 376p after a third-quarter trading update that cut full-year profit expectations.
- FTSE 100 LIVE: London opens in the red ahead of Healey's maiden Budget Update
The FTSE 100 was down 27 points in early trading, with investors cautious ahead of the Budget and digesting a heavy batch of corporate news.
- Drugs giant GSK has slipped despite beating forecasts, with investors focused on falling vaccine sales and a guarded profit outlook
GSK shares fell 4% to 1,852p in early trading, after the FTSE 100 drugmaker's third-quarter results beat expectations on sales and core earnings.
- Plus500 first broker to offer Kalshi's no-expiry futures contracts to US clients
Plus500, the FTSE 250 online trading group, has become the first broker outside Kalshi's own to offer a new type of futures contract on Kalshi's US exchange.
- C&C lifts first-half profit and margin despite 3% revenue fall as it exits low-margin business
C&C Group, the owner of the Tennent's and Bulmers drinks brands, has reported higher first-half profit and margins despite lower revenue.
- Aston Martin keeps 2026 guidance as Valhalla deliveries lift gross margin to 35%
Aston Martin Lagonda, the British luxury carmaker, has held its full-year guidance after deliveries of its Valhalla hybrid supercar lifted margins.
- Elementis nudges up 2026 profit guidance as personal care drives 7% revenue growth
Elementis, the specialty chemicals maker, now expects full-year adjusted operating profit of $133 million to $135 million, slightly above its previous guidance.
- Intertek reports 7% third-quarter revenue growth as EQT takeover nears completion
Intertek, the FTSE 100 testing and quality assurance group, has reported 7.0% third-quarter revenue growth at constant currency.
- GSK holds 2026 guidance as specialty medicines lift sales, but restructuring charge hits profit
GSK, the London-listed drugmaker, has reaffirmed its full-year guidance after specialty medicines drove third-quarter sales growth.
- Unilever lifts volume forecast as emerging markets and Home Care drive third quarter
Unilever, the Dove and Hellmann's maker, has raised its full-year volume forecast after emerging markets powered a strong third quarter.
- Standard Chartered raises income guidance as wealth and trading arms drive 29% profit jump
Standard Chartered, the London-headquartered bank focused on Asia, Africa and the Middle East, has raised its 2026 income guidance after a strong third quarter.
- FTSE 100 LIVE: London set to open in the read ahead of Healey's maiden Budget Update
The FTSE 100 looks set to open around 22 points in the red, piling on Tuesday's pain, which saw the blue-chip index close 81 points lower.
- FTSE 100 LIVE: Asian markets rally as Korea surges 6% while hot inflation wipes out ASX gains
Asian markets were mostly higher on Wednesday, led by a powerful semiconductor rally in South Korea and gains in Japan and Taiwan, while Australian shares…