London midday: FTSE stays down as StanChart, BP slump
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Tuesday 10 Feb 2026
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still in the red by midday on Tuesday, weighed down by weak performances from BP and Standard Chartered despite more gains in Asia, where the Nikkei rose 2.3% to close at another record high.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 10,365.63.
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: "The FTSE 100 slipped on mixed results from some of the big hitters in the index.
"Retail sales data from the US for December is likely to be under scrutiny later as the market looks for insights into the health of the US consumer during the festive period.
"Wall Street yesterday saw a recovery in the tech sector while the Nikkei continues to bask in the afterglow of the weekend's decisive election result. In the UK, despite continuing speculation about the fate of embattled prime minister Keir Starmer the pound and gilts steadied."
On Monday, Starmer lost his director of communications a day after his chief of staff resigned amid the fallout from his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US.
Investors were also mulling the latest retail industry data out earlier, which showed that sales across the UK picked up strongly in January, as New Year promotions spurred consumer spending following two months of subdued growth.
According to the British Retail Consortium-KPMG monthly UK retail sales monitor, sales rose 2.7% year-on-year over the four weeks to 31 January.
That's up from the meagre 1.4% increase seen in November, as pre-Budget jitters and a weak Black Friday limited spend, and a 1.2% rise in December on the back of strong prior-year comparatives and people holding out for January sales.
It was also comfortably above the 12-month average growth rate of 2.3%.
Looking ahead to the rest of the day, US retail sales figures for December are due at 1330 GMT.
In equity markets, Standard Chartered slumped as it announced the surprise departure of chief financial officer Diego De Giorgi and named Peter Burrill as interim group CFO. De Giorgi stepping down with immediate effect to join Apollo as a partner and head of EMEA.
BP gushed lower after the oil giant said it was putting its share buyback programme on hold. BP posted underlying replacement cost (RC) profit of $1.5bn in the fourth quarter, down sharply on the previous three months but up 32% year-on-year and largely in line with expectations.
Barclays fell even as it lifted performance targets after annual profits jumped 13% as it also unveiled a new £1bn buyback.
Pre-tax profit came in at £9.1bn, with group income up 9% to £29.1bn also boosted by the acquisition of Tesco Bank. Barclays is now aiming for a return on tangible equity of more than 14% in 2028 and capital distributions of greater than £15bn in the next two years.
Coatsworth said: "Barclays has outlined near and medium-term targets which imply stronger returns and big share buybacks. The targets sound impressive, but the market seems nonplussed by the overall package.
"There wasn't enough to blow the lights out in terms of recent performance, and so much good news is already in the price.
"The banking sector has been a major money maker for investors over the past two years and now needs powerful catalysts to sustain the upwards share price momentum. That means large upgrades to earnings forecasts, otherwise the shares could stall.
"Barclays' figures might warrant small upgrades, but there isn't enough power in the results to keep the share price rally going."
Homeware retailer Dunelm turned lower as it reported a drop in interim profit following softer trading in the second quarter, but backed its full-year profit outlook and said sales had picked up in the third quarter.
Mony Group, which trades as MoneySuperMarket, tumbled after US online insurance agent and comparison platform Insurify launched what it claimed is the insurance industry's first ChatGPT app. GoCompare owner Future was also under the cosh, along with Admiral.
On the upside, Croda surged as JPMorgan reiterated its 'overweight' rating on the shares and hiked the price target to 4,000p from 3,600p.
Coca-Cola HBC fizzed higher after it said reported revenue grew 7.9% in 2025, driven by strong organic growth, while Burberry rose after quarterly sales at Gucci-owner Kering beat expectations.
AstraZeneca edged up as it posted a jump in full-year revenues and earnings, boosted by strong demand for its oncology drugs.
Housebuilder Bellway advanced after saying it was on track to meet its full-year completions guidance as it hailed a "robust" first-half performance in a "challenging" market. It also highlighted "clear signs" of improving customer demand in the early weeks of the current spring selling season.
Other housebuilders followed suit, with Barratt and Persimmon also up.
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