The FTSE 100 hit a fresh intraday record high on Thursday as markets shrugged off soft UK GDP data, and Schroders’ takeover helped lift the index.
London’s leading index was trading 0.1% higher at 10,482 at the time of writing, after touching a high of 10,535.
“The Footsie has scaled fresh heights, as demand for London-listed assets intensifies,” explained Susannah Streeter, Chief Investment Strategist, Wealth Club.
Schroders shares were 28% higher after agreeing to a £9.9 billion takeover by a US investment group.
“The mega takeover of Schroders by US institutional investor Nuveen demonstrates how overseas players are sniffing out untapped value in UK companies. The acquisition will create an asset management behemoth and, thanks to the decision to locate the merged company in London, adds shine to the City’s reputation as a leader in global asset and wealth management.”
It will, however, be a blow to London’s equity markets as another stalwart leaves the FTSE 100.
Elsewhere, several high-profile results announcements were made by FTSE 100 companies.
Unilever released full-year results on Thursday, showing fourth-quarter progress with sales and volumes increasing. However, a disappointing outlook for 2026 overshadowed any optimism around recent sales growth, and shares slipped 1%.
“Today’s results fit into a pattern of recent UK corporate updates, cautiously optimistic but by no means ambitious,” said Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG.
“Sales growth targets for 2026 seem achievable, but are still short of the 5% target the company has spoken of in the past. Instead it seems investors will just have to wait and see, but with the stock trading at a more expensive level relative to its peers there’s not much room for disappointment.”
Underpressure RELX provided investors some reassurance around AI in their 2025 results with steadily growing revenues and profits.
“RELX’s latest results are a pivotal moment for the business following market concerns that Anthropic’s new legal AI tool would eat its lunch,” explained Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.
“RELX’s message on AI is loud and clear – it’s an opportunity, not a threat. It has deployed AI across its own business to become more efficient and to benefit clients. However, there still feels a sense of trepidation among investors about third party AI disruption, given a muted share price reaction to the results. That is despite the company ticking all the right boxes on revenue, profit and dividend growth.”
Investors may also find some solace in the firm’s valuation and PE Ratio of around 17x earnings.
British American Tobacco weighed on the index after reporting falling revenues despite increased sales of smokeless products. BATS shares were down 2% at the time of writing.