Weekly review
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Friday 23 Oct 2026
(Sharecast News) - The FTSE 100 ended the week down 1.8%, closing at 10,690.36 on Friday.
Equity view
Debenhams parent company Boohoo Group said on Friday that its turnaround continued to gather momentum in the first half, with a sharp swing back to profit and a further reduction in net debt. Boohoo said reported underlying earnings had jumped to £19.7m from a £3.5m loss a year earlier, helped by an 82% drop in exceptional costs, while statutory pre-tax profits came in at £28.3m, a £46m improvement on H1 FY26. Adjusted EBITDA rose 14.6% to £24m, with margins improving to 5.9%.
Barclays reported a slightly lower-than-expected third-quarter profit on Thursday following a strong performance in equities but weakness in fixed income, as it announced a £500m share buyback and confirmed plans to cut around 5,000 jobs this year in an AI push. In the three months to the end of September, pre-tax profit grew 12% to £2.3bn, missing expectations of £2.4bn, while earnings per share were 18% higher year-on-year at 12.3p.
London Stock Exchange Group announced on Thursday that it has agreed to buy credit specialist Octus from Permira for $3.5bn, as it lifted its full-year guidance. Founded in 2013 by Kent Collier, Octus provides credit solutions across intelligence, data and analytics, serving customers across private, illiquid and distressed credit. Headquartered in New York and with a global footprint, it has over 900 employees, 750 customers and more than 40,000 individual users including buy-side firms, investment banks, law firms and advisory firms.
Pest control group Rentokil Initial said on Thursday that it had approved a $200m share buyback and announced the upcoming retirement of its chief financial officer, Paul Edgecliffe‑Johnson, as it posted a solid third‑quarter performance and reiterated full‑year guidance. Rentokil reported 3.4% organic revenue growth in Q3, with total revenues rising 4% to $1.89bn, as North America delivered 3.2% organic growth, including a 2.4% rise in pest control revenues, supported by improving residential lead trends, stronger national‑account performance and continued adoption of PestConnect. Business services remained a bright spot, with organic growth of 9.6%.
J Sainsbury's posted improved interim sales and profits and lifted annual guidance on Thursday, as robust grocery sales helped offset weaker demand for homewares and clothing. The supermarket giant, which is in the process of selling general retailer Argos, said underlying sales excluding fuel rose 2.6% in the 28 weeks to 12 September, to £14bn, while underlying operating profits were 3.6% stronger at £525m.
Shares of Mobico - formerly National Express - surged on Wednesday after it said it had received a 46p per share takeover approach from Spain's Autobuses de Leon (AdL) that it would be minded to recommend. AdL is jointly held by CMC Group and a fund managed by Madrid-based Asterion Industrial Partners. CMC Group has been a long-term investor in Mobico since its sale of ALSA in 2005, and is the company's largest shareholder with a 26% shareholding.
Halfords backed its full-year profit expectations on Wednesday as it hailed "strong" trading in the first half, but shares of the provider of motoring and cycling products and services slumped as indications of a weaker second half prompted investors to take some profits. In the 26 weeks to 2 October, group like-for-like sales rose 7.1%, with sales in the retail segment up 7.7%, while motoring and cycling saw increases of 7.3% and 8.3%, respectively. LFL sales at Autocentres grew 6.1%.
Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment said on Tuesday that it was cutting up to 1,400 jobs as it restructures the UK and Ireland business in response to the increase in UK gaming taxes announced in the 2025 Autumn Budget. Flutter, which also owns FanDuel and Betfair, among others, said the restructuring will impact staff in a number of locations including Leeds and Dublin, as well as UK & Ireland staff at Flutter hubs including Porto, Portugal and Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Distribution and services group Bunzl said on Tuesday that it had delivered "a good performance" in the third quarter, with operating margins expected to be broadly flat year‑on‑year, demonstrating the "resilience" of the business. Quarterly group revenues grew by 3.1% at constant exchange rates and broadly the same at actual exchange rates, while underlying revenues increased by 3.7%, supported by both inflation, reflective of year-on-year product cost increases, and volume growth, which continued to be driven by "a strong performance" in its North American distribution business.
Anglo American maintained its full-year guidance on Tuesday, despite record snowfall hitting quarterly copper production in Chile. Updating on trading, the blue chip miner saw copper production fall 5% in the three months to 30 September, to 174,900 tonnes, hit by unplanned maintenance and record snowfall in Chile. Premium iron ore production was also down, off 4% at 13.8m, while manganese ore was 6% stronger at 1.03m tonnes.
Whitbread urged investors on Monday to vote against Corvex Asset Management's resolution to appoint one of its partners to the board, insisting that the activist investor's proposals are not a "superior alternative" to the company's five-year plan. Corvex, which owns around 6.4% of Whitbread's ordinary shares and has an economic interest of roughly 7%, is seeking to appoint James Gemmel to the board. It said in September that it had spent the last year seeking to engage privately with the board.
Mulberry reported a jump in first-half sales on Monday as it said its turnaround was taking shape, highlighting strong full-price sales growth and a solid performance in the US. In the 26 weeks to 26 September, group sales rose 18% year-on-year, with sales in the UK 10% higher, while the US saw a 28% increase. Sales in Europe and Asia Pacific were up 23% and 5%, respectively, while franchise and wholesale revenue rose 52%.
UK economic news
UK business activity growth picked up in October, according to a survey released on Friday. The flash S&P Global composite purchasing managers' index ticked up to 53.1 from 52.0 in September, beating expectations for a reading of 51.7. This was above the 50 mark that separates contraction from expansion for the fourth month in a row and marked the highest reading since February.
UK retail sales fell more than expected in September, according to figures released on Friday by the Office for National Statistics. Retail sales dipped 0.4% following a 0.7% rise the month before, and versus expectations for a smaller decline of 0.1%. The ONS said online clothing retailers commented that the release of autumn and winter ranges in September did not perform well due to the unseasonably warm weather.
The UK unemployment rate unexpectedly dipped in August, official data showed on Tuesday, although the number of vacancies also continued to fall. According to the Office for National Statistics, the unemployment rate in June to August was 4.7%, better than the 4.9% markets were expecting and down 0.1 percentage points on both the year and quarter.
Profit warnings from UK-listed companies rose to their highest level in nearly two years during the third quarter, as rising costs, geopolitical uncertainty and weaker consumer confidence weighed on businesses, according to new research from EY-Parthenon. A total of 65 profit warnings were issued between July and September, up from 59 in the preceding quarter and the highest number since the final quarter of 2024, when 71 were recorded, EY analysis found.
Consumer sentiment slumped to a three-year low in October, a closely-watched survey showed on Monday, as households continued to worry about the prospect of interest rate hikes. The latest S&P Global consumer sentiment index came in at 41.3, down on September's 42.7 and the lowest since July 2023. The index has now fallen for three months in a row.
International events
Shares of Volvo Cars tanked on Friday after the Swedish car maker announced more job cuts and said it swung to a loss in the third quarter amid ongoing weakness in China. The company, owned by China's Geely Group, posted a third-quarter loss of SEK3.7bn, versus a profit of SEK5.8bn in the same period a year earlier. Revenue in the quarter fell to SEK66.9bn from SEK86.4bn. Volvo Cars said the results reflect "a further deteriorating external environment, led by market developments in China and the US".
Kering shares slid on Friday after it reported a fall in sales at luxury brand Gucci amid weak demand in Asia. Group revenue was stable on a reported basis in the third quarter and down 1% on a comparable basis, to €3.34bn. Meanwhile, sales at flagship brand Gucci fell 4% on a reported basis or 6% on a comparable basis to €1.29bn. Kering said the performance of Gucci reflected a more demanding comparison base and a less pronounced newness effect than in the second quarter.
Shares in Birkin-maker Hermes International lost their sheen on Thursday, after challenging conditions in China weighed on quarterly sales growth. The French luxury group said sales in the three months to September end rose 4.3% on a constant currency basis to €4.1bn. However, that was below expectations, for third-quarter growth closer to 5.2%, and was Hermes' weakest quarterly sales growth rate since the start of the pandemic, when it was forced to close stores worldwide.
Netflix shares fell overnight after the streaming giant paired solid third-quarter results with a weaker-than-expected outlook, fuelling concerns that growth is beginning to slow. The company reported third-quarter revenue of $12.87bn, up 11.8% year-on-year, while net income rose to $3.66bn. Operating margins also topped expectations, reflecting continued pricing power and cost discipline.
Shares in Carrefour tumbled on Wednesday, after the grocer warned that the riots and mass protests sweeping France would hit profits. Posting an update on third-quarter trading on Tuesday, the supermarket chain said sales had sparked 2.3% on a like-for-like basis, including a 1.2% uplift in France across all formats. However, looking to the current quarter and Carrefour warned that "in light of the worsening social and security situation", both consumer trends and operating conditions had deteriorated.
Shares in Tesla and SpaceX jumped on Wednesday, after Elon Musk confirmed the two businesses were exploring a possible blockbuster merger. The world's richest man, who is chief executive of both companies, said the car manufacturer and space and technology specialist had formed specialist committees to consider a possible tie-up. "Do I think it would be a good idea? Yes. But at the end of the day, the shareholders have to be supportive of this." Musk has significant stakes in both businesses.
German investor sentiment deteriorated more than expected in October, according to a survey released on Tuesday by the ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim. The ZEW economic expectations index fell to 28.1 from 34.7 in September, missing expectations for a reading of 29.9. The current conditions index rose to -35.9 in October from -47.1 the month before.
US housing starts and building permits both softened in September, according to the Census Bureau, offering another weak read on construction activity as higher mortgage costs continued to weigh on builders. Housing starts fell 5.2% to an annualised 1.22m, the lowest level since May, while permits dipped 0.2% to 1.4m, though slightly above expectations.
The Eurozone construction sector rebounded in August, official data showed on Tuesday, fuelled in part by a sharp spike in activity in Germany, the bloc's largest economy. According to first estimates from Eurostat, the European Union's statistical office, construction output rose 1.4% year-on-year, comfortably reversing July's upwardly-revised 1.7% decline and the strongest growth since October 2025. Month-on-month, and output rose 1.8%, a notable improvement on July's 0.2% uptick.
Shares in Silence Therapeutics more than doubled on Monday, after the US-listed British biotech agreed to be taken over by Germany's Merck in a $1.3bn deal. Under the terms of the acquisition, Silence shareholders will receive $20 in cash per American depositary share, with each ADS representing three ordinary Silence shares. The all-cash offer represents a 130% premium and values the business at around $1.3bn.
China's economic growth gathered pace in the third quarter, official data showed on Monday, as booming international demand for artificial intelligence-related tech helped offset weakness elsewhere. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, GDP grew by 4.5% in the three months to September, building on growth of 4.3% in the previous quarter and ahead of forecasts for 4.4%. Beijing is targeting annual growth of 4.5% to 5%.
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