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The FTSE 100 closed in the green on Thursday, as investors continued to analyse the US Federal Reserve’s decision on Wednesday amid a swathe of earnings releases. In response to the decision to hold rates, US President Donald Trump slammed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s monetary policy on Thursday. ‘Jerome ’Too Late’ Powell again refused to cut interest rates, even though he has absolutely no reason to keep them so high,’ Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. (The Fed voted 10-2 on Wednesday to keep the benchmark lending rate unchanged.) He called Powell a ‘moron,’ adding: ‘The Fed should substantially lower interest rates, NOW!’ The FTSE 100 index closed up 17.33 points, 0.2%, at 10,171.76. The FTSE 250 ended down 122.19 points, 0.5%, at 23,268.44, and the AIM all-share closed down 7.17 points, 0.9%, at 824.92. The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 1,015.49, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.6% at 2,0559.21, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.8% at 18,710.55. On the FTSE 250, Rank Group was down 1.0%. The Maidenhead, England-based Mecca Bingo owner reported £23.9 million in pretax profit for the six months that ended December 31, down 19% on-year. Revenue however rose 4.5% to £420.0 million. Rank declared an interim dividend per share of 1.00 pence, up 54% from 0.65p, and said it expects to deliver a full-year outcome in line with expectations. On AIM, Ashtead Technology was down 0.4%. The company, which provides subsea technology solutions to the global offshore energy sector, had earlier been in the red following US peer United Rentals’ full-year results. United Rentals, down 11% in New York, reported annual and fourth-quarter results on Wednesday. Quarterly sales rose 2.8% year on year to $4.21 billion, lower than analysts’ estimate of $4.24 billion. Adjusted Ebitda was $1.90 billion, lower than the forecast of $1.93 billion. However, its full-year guidance at the midpoint was for $17.05 billion in revenue and $7.7 billion in Ebitda, in line with market expectations. International Paper Co was down 8.3% in London, and down 6.7% in New York. The company announced plans to divide itself into two independent, publicly traded companies for North America and Europe, Middle East & Africa, a year after acquiring London-listed packaging company DS Smith. International Paper also released its 2025 earnings, swinging to a $3.52 billion net loss for the year due to the transaction and integration costs of that acquisition. In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 0.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended down 2.1%. The pound was quoted higher at $1.3797 at the time of the London equities close on Thursday, compared to $1.3778 on Wednesday. The euro stood higher at $1.1950, against $1.1935. Against the yen, the dollar was trading lower at JP¥152.87 compared to JP¥153.63. Stocks in New York were lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3%, the S&P 500 index 1.0% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.0%. Microsoft was down 12%, after reporting better than expected second quarter results on Wednesday, with revenue rising to $81.27 billion, ahead of Visible Alpha consensus. However, More Personal Computing revenue declined 3% on-year to $14.3 billion, and missed the $14.38 billion StreetAccount consensus. Meta Platforms rose 7.8%, having reported better-than-expected revenue as advertising impressions, and prices per ad grew, while guidance also surprised to the upside. Net income rose 9% to $22.77 billion in the three months to December 31 and diluted earnings per share advanced 11% to $8.88, ahead of $8.20 Visible Alpha consensus. Revenue jumped 24% to $59.89 billion, topping $58.38 billion VA consensus. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.24%, narrowing from 4.26%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted unchanged at 4.87%. Brent oil was quoted at $69.40 a barrel at the time of the London equities close on Thursday, up from $68.01 late on Wednesday. Gold was quoted lower at $5,256.30 an ounce against $5,282.35. The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were 3i Group, up 310.93p at 3,457.93p, Anglo American, up 124.83p at 3,600.83p, Metlen Energy & Metals, up 1.25p at 47.60p, Diageo, up 43.29p at 1,665.79p, and Rio Tinto, up 169.37p at 6,920.37p. The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Ashtead Group, down 297.81p at 4,814.19p, Sage, down 40.40p at 955.00p, Autotrader, down 21.60p at 535.20p, Relx, down 98.00p at 2,594.00p, and Fresnillo, down 122.54p at 3,993.46p. On Friday’s economic calendar, there are GDP figures from France and Germany, which is also publishing CPI, unemployment and export and import price data. Also, the US releases PPI data, and the UK has mortgage approvals. On Friday’s UK corporate calendar, Airtel Africa releases third-quarter results. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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