The Market Wire
Saturday, 24 October 2026
- SMALL-CAP MOVERS: From Cornwall to the Rockies. Here's what's been moving and shaking this week Update
A battery built on sulfur
- Evoke revenues dip as shop closures and sports results weigh, but Bally's deal on track Update
Evoke, the betting and gaming group behind William Hill, 888 and Mr Green, reported a 7% decline in third-quarter revenues to £406 million, though the drop was…
Friday, 23 October 2026
- SMALL-CAP MOVERS: From Cornwall to the Rockies. Here's what's been moving and shaking this week
My preference is the first.
- Bank results land in Budget week as surcharge fears grow
HSBC, Standard Chartered, Lloyds and NatWest report third-quarter numbers as fears grow of a bank tax rise in the Budget
- Jefferies keeps 'buy' on Oxford BioMedica with 57% upside after management briefing
Jefferies has reiterated its 'buy' rating on Oxford BioMedica with a £8.27 price target, 57% above Thursday's closing price of £5.27.
- Barclays posts third-quarter miss driven by trading desk weakness but brokers back the stock
Barclays delivered a disappointing third quarter on Thursday, missing profit forecasts.
- UBS keeps Attractive rating on global equities as AI drives earnings growth
Markets have shrugged off rising bond yields, higher energy prices, and geopolitical uncertainty to keep climbing, according to a new note from UBS, the Swiss…
- Fintel buys Mortgage Brain for £38.4m to boost software and AI capabilities
Fintel, the AIM-quoted provider of technology and data services to the UK financial services sector, has acquired the remaining equity of Mortgage Brain…
- Smarter Web Company adds 20 Bitcoin to treasury at £61,733 apiece
The Smarter Web Company, a digital services and Bitcoin treasury business, has purchased a further 20 Bitcoin for £1.23 million as part of its long-term…
- Helical secures major letting at Brettenham House as development pipeline advances
Helical, the London office developer, has exchanged an agreement for lease with communications firm FGS Global for 23,887 square feet across three floors of…
- Unite Group sells academy school for £41m
Unite Group, the UK's largest owner and developer of student accommodation, has exchanged contracts to sell an academy school at its Hawthorne House…
- Debenhams Group eyes £100m profit as turnaround gathers pace
Debenhams Group, the online fashion retailer formerly known as boohoo, has set its sights on delivering more than £100 million in annual profit before tax as…
- Rio Tinto to invest $1.9bn in Queensland bauxite project
Rio Tinto, the mining giant, is to invest $1.9 billion to develop the Kangwinan bauxite project on the Western Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia.
- FTSE 100 LIVE: London shares fall as Wall Street's AI sell-off continues
The FTSE 100 fell 64 points on Friday as a second day of AI-driven anxiety on Wall Street kept risk appetite in check on both sides of the Atlantic.
Thursday, 22 October 2026
- FIVE AT FIVE: Tech rout wipes 2% off the Nasdaq, LSEG jumps on its Octus deal and Inchcape loses 9%
That's your five for Thursday.
- Jackdaw approval signals new era for UK oil and gas development
The UK government's decision to approve the Jackdaw gas field has opened the door for a wave of new domestic energy developments, with analysts at Shore…
- FTSE 100 LIVE: London firmly in the red as miners lead the losers' board Update
The FTSE 100 fell 80 points on Thursday morning as a renewed sell-off in French government bonds and sliding metals prices dragged on London's blue-chip index.
- Inchcape shares fall 9% as Australia weakness forces margin cut
Inchcape, the global automotive distribution group, fell 9% to 631p after a sharp deterioration in its Australian business forced the company to cut its…
- LSEG shares jump 4% as Octus deal and raised guidance impress City
London Stock Exchange Group shares rose 4% to 9,114p after the financial markets infrastructure company raised its full-year guidance and announced the $3.5…
- Gold miners brace for mixed third-quarter results as falling prices squeeze margins
Gold producers are heading into third-quarter reporting season facing a second consecutive quarter of margin compression, as lower realised prices and stubborn…
- UBS flags FICC miss as Barclays shares hold steady despite profit beat
Barclays shares were flat after third-quarter results that beat on profit before tax but missed on income, with weakness in the investment bank's fixed income…
- European airlines stay consensus short, but EU consolidation theme draws investor interest
European airline stocks remain broadly out of favour with investors, but positioning has improved slightly week-on-week and consolidation across the sector is…
- Sainsbury's shares fall 4% as softer second-quarter grocery growth clouds half-year beat
Sainsbury's shares fell 4% to 345p after the supermarket's half-year results revealed a slowdown in grocery sales growth in the second quarter that…
- Deutsche Bank upgrades XP Power to buy as semiconductor orders surge
Deutsche Bank has upgraded XP Power, the power conversion equipment maker, to 'buy' from 'hold' and raised its target price from 1400p to 2285p, implying 30%…
- Brokers back Rentokil as shares jump 9% on buyback and reassuring trading update
Rentokil Initial shares surged 9% after the pest control and hygiene group announced a $200 million share buyback and said it expected full-year profit in line…
- FTSE 100 LIVE: London 69 points in the hole as miners lead the losers' board Update
The FTSE 100 opened almost 70 points in the red, led lower by the mining sector.
- AstraZeneca wins US approval for Ultomiris in rare kidney disease
AstraZeneca's rare disease unit Alexion has secured accelerated US approval for Ultomiris in immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN), a rare inflammatory kidney…
- Rathbones posts net inflows in wealth management for second straight quarter
Rathbones Group, the FTSE 250 wealth manager, attracted net inflows into its wealth management business for a second consecutive quarter, as funds under…
- IHG accelerates RevPAR growth to 5.3% in third quarter and backs full-year consensus
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) reported an acceleration in revenue per available room to 5.3% in the third quarter, up from 4.6% year-to-date, and said it…