UK share prices were slightly firmer at the start of Thursday trading after data showed the economy grew more than analysts had anticipated in February, while attention stayed on the possibility of U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks. European markets were mixed and the pound remained steady against the dollar.
At 07:05 GMT the FTSE 100 was up 0.2%. The British pound rose 0.07% versus the U.S. dollar to 1.3577. Elsewhere in Europe, Germany's DAX edged down 0.04% and France's CAC 40 climbed 0.1%.
Economic snapshot
Official figures published by the national statistics agency showed the UK economy expanded in February, exceeding the 0.1% monthly rise that economists surveyed by Reuters had expected. January's growth was revised up to 0.1%.
The month-on-month pickup was broad-based. Services activity rose by 0.5%, industrial production increased by 0.5% and construction output jumped 1.0%, despite unseasonably wet weather in February.
Corporate movers
Several London-listed companies reported updates that reflected both the economic environment and external uncertainty.
- Tesco PLC (TSCO) said heightened uncertainty tied to the Middle East conflict had led it to widen its profit outlook for the coming year. The retailer set an adjusted operating profit target for its 2026/27 financial year of between a33.0 billion and a33.3 billion ( a34.07 billion to $4.48 billion), compared with the a33.152 billion it recorded in 2025/26. That prior result represented a 0.6% year-on-year increase and was slightly ahead of the company's own targets.
- Ashmore Group Plc (ASHM) reported a fall in assets under management during its fiscal third quarter as the widening Middle East conflict disrupted an otherwise promising start to the year. AUM stood at $50.7 billion as of March 31, down 3% from $52.5 billion at end-December. The reduction comprised roughly equal parts: $0.9 billion of net client outflows and $0.9 billion of negative investment performance.
- Rentokil Initial PLC (RTO) posted first-quarter organic growth of 3.4%, outperforming analyst expectations of 3.0%. Group revenues reached $1,677 million, up 4.3% from the prior-year period. Pest control services expanded organically by 3.7% while hygiene services rose 2.1%. The North America region grew 3.9%, with business services up 12.7%. U.S. pest control services improved to 2.8% growth from 2.6% in the fourth quarter, despite weather impacts in January.
- Hays Plc (HAYS) reported a third-quarter like-for-like net fee decline of 8% year-on-year, which was marginally better than analyst forecasts and an improvement on the 10% decline recorded in the second quarter. March trading was said to be in line with the quarter as a whole, and the Rest of World region was cited as the driver behind the modest beat versus expectations.
- Schroders PLC (SDR) recorded a31.1 billion of client outflows in the first quarter of 2026, attributing the reversal in demand patterns to geopolitical tensions. Total assets under management were a3814.4 billion at the end of the period, down from a3823.7 billion at Dec. 31, 2025.
Market implications
The stronger-than-expected February GDP reading points to continued momentum across services and parts of industry and construction. Still, corporate updates highlighted the disruptive effect of geopolitical uncertainty on financial flows and the need for firms to navigate weather and demand variability. Investors were balancing the domestic growth surprise with external developments and company-level performance trends as trading began.