Source: Sharecast
Specialist engineer IMI rallied as it reported a 27% jump in annual earnings, announced a £500m share buyback and forecast mid-single-digit organic revenue growth for 2026.
Adjusted pre-tax profits for the 12 months to the end of December rose to £442 from £419m, representing earnings per share of 132.3p. On a reported basis pre-tax earnings were up 27% to £419m. IMI said it expects 2026 adjusted basic EPS to be between 136p and 142p.
Defence firms BAE Systems and Babcock rallied amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Oil giants Shell and BP gushed higher as Brent crude breached $90 per barrel. Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said the oil price took another leg higher after Kuwait joined Qatar and said that it was halting energy production.
"Donald Trump also brushed off hopes that mediation was taking place to end this war in the Middle East, instead he said that there would be no end until an ‘unconditional surrender’ of the Iranian regime took place, which seems unlikely in the near term," she noted.
"This has dashed hopes that the conflict will be averted quickly, and the oil price has continued its push back towards $90, Brent crude is higher by 6% on the day and is now above $90 per barrel, and there is not much to stop it from hitting $100 per barrel in the near term. The relentless rise has also seen WTI crude rose by 9% today. Until the oil price stabilises it’s hard to see how stock markets and bond prices can recover."
On the downside, miners lost ground, with Anglo American, Glencore and Antofagasta all weaker.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Rightmove (RMV) 457.40p 3.35%
IMI (IMI) 2,806.00p 2.18%
BAE Systems (BA.) 2,182.00p 1.87%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,365.00p 1.86%
3i Group (III) 2,978.00p 1.74%
Autotrader Group (AUTO) 485.30p 1.63%
The Sage Group (SGE) 845.60p 1.39%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 546.00p 1.18%
Shell (SHEL) 3,124.50p 1.13%
BP (BP.) 494.95p 1.04%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Anglo American (AAL) 3,172.00p -5.89%
Glencore (GLEN) 491.85p -3.70%
Kingfisher (KGF) 329.40p -3.62%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 344.60p -3.58%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 364.40p -3.36%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,720.00p -3.19%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,026.00p -3.08%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,530.00p -2.91%
Weir Group (WEIR) 3,000.00p -2.91%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,265.00p -2.67%
