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London’s FTSE 100 closed 0.94% lower on Thursday after the Bank of England kept its key rate unchanged at 3.75%, as widely expected, while several corporate heavyweights pushed out earnings and trading reports.
The BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee voted by a majority of 5-4 to hold the rate, with four members opting for a 25-basis-point cut.
“Although above the 2% target currently, [consumer price index] inflation is expected to fall back to around the target from April, owing to developments in energy prices including from Budget 2025,” according to the central bank. “The risk from greater inflation persistence has continued to become less pronounced, while some risks to inflation from weaker demand and a loosening labour market remain.”
On the corporate front, Vodafone Group (VOD.L) fell 4.59% after announcing a yearly rise in third-quarter revenue, guiding fiscal 2026 profit at the upper limit of its outlook, and launching a 500 million-euro share repurchase program.
“Vodafone published its Q3 2026 trading statement this morning, which we view as being a solid quarter overall,” said Berenberg. “However, we believe that the shares will likely be under pressure today due to the slight miss on German service revenue and perceived weak German broadband adds.”
Shell (SHEL.L), down 3.58%, also rolled out another $3.5 billion share buyback with a bigger 2025 dividend and an increase in full-year income attributable to shareholders to $17.84 billion from $16.09 billion year over year.
Meanwhile, the blue-chip FTSE 100 index’s top loser was Glencore (GLEN.L) after it and Rio Tinto (RIO.L) said merger talks to create the biggest mining company in the world ended without a deal. Rio Tinto lost 2.71% while Glencore fell 7.48%.
In other news, the UK signed a memorandum of understanding with the US as part of both countries’ efforts to secure supplies of critical minerals and rare earths, which are essential to key sectors including automotive, defense and clean energy.