London open: Shell paces the gains after well-received results; ECB eyed
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Thursday 29 Oct 2026
(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Thursday, with Shell pacing the gains after well-received results, as investors mulled a policy announcement from the Federal Reserve, ahead of the European Central Bank's latest decision.
At 0835 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 10,733.52.
Overnight, the Fed left policy rates unchanged at between 3.75% and 4.00%, as expected, with Hammack and Cook dissenting and favouring a 25 basis points hike.
"The statement was largely unchanged, although the upgrade of the economic activity to a 'strong' pace from a 'solid' pace marked a slight hawkish shift," Danske Bank said. "At the press conference, Warsh said that growth was probably above 3% in Q3, while also flagging the recent tightening of financial conditions and offering no specific guidance on the future rate path.
"Although the market reaction was to the dovish side, we read Warsh's comments on the economic outlook as hawkish."
Danske maintained its call for 25bp hikes in December and March, with risks tilted towards more than two hikes.
Looking to the rest of the day, investors will turn their attention to UK mortgage approvals and consumer credit data for September at 0930 GMT and the latest policy announcement from the European Central Bank at 1315 GMT. The ECB is expected to leave rates at 2.50%.
In equity markets, Shell shot to the top of the FTSE 100 as it posted a near-doubling of its third-quarter profit, driven by record refining margins, and announced a $5bn share buyback programme.
In the three months to September end, adjusted earnings - the oil giant's measure of net profit - rose to $10.8bn from $5.4bn in the same period a year earlier. This was ahead of analysts' expectations of $10.3bn. The indicative refining margin jumped to $42 in Q3 from $24 in the second quarter.
Whitbread rallied as the Premier Inn owner welcomed Chancellor John Healey's Autumn Budget, saying that the freeze to business rates and a "more reasonable" increase in wages were set to have "a significant positive impact" on its performance.
On the downside, Haleon tumbled as the consumer healthcare firm cut its full-year organic revenue growth guidance, noting that its third-quarter performance was held back by soft cold and flu consumption.
St James's Place also lost ground despite saying that funds under management reached a record £242.4bn in the third quarter after another quarter of net inflows.
Lloyds Banking Group was under the cosh despite saying it was on track to meet 2026 guidance as it posted a rise in third-quarter pre-tax profit and net income that met analysts' expectations. In the three months to September end, pre-tax profit increased to £2.3bn from £1.2bn in the same period a year earlier, versus expectations of £2.28bn.
Net interest income was 10% higher at £3.8bn, in line with analysts' expectations, while net income came in at £5.1bn, up from £4.6bn and also broadly in line with expectations.
Elsewhere, Kier and Renishaw fell as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,733.52 0.36%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,637.30 -0.01%
techMARK (TASX) 6,289.82 -0.60%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Shell (SHEL) 4,089.00p 2.79%
3i Group (III) 2,406.00p 2.60%
BAE Systems (BA.) 2,066.00p 2.12%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 9,298.00p 1.87%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,024.50p 1.73%
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 8,480.00p 1.50%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 342.70p 1.42%
Aviva (AV.) 730.60p 1.42%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,851.00p 1.39%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,918.00p 1.30%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Haleon (HLN) 332.70p -11.07%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,073.50p -3.73%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 100.65p -3.37%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 635.40p -1.98%
Balfour Beatty (BBY) 852.00p -1.05%
GSK (GSK) 1,811.00p -0.85%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,246.00p -0.82%
Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 12,390.00p -0.80%
Computacenter (CCC) 5,210.00p -0.76%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,533.50p -0.74%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Hansa Investment Company Limited (DI) (HAN) 348.00p 4.19%
Pollen Street Group Limited (POLN) 935.00p 2.07%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 402.00p 2.02%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 536.50p 1.70%
IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 378.00p 1.46%
Chemring Group (CHG) 571.00p 1.42%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 329.00p 1.35%
Workspace Group (WKP) 345.00p 1.35%
Law Debenture Corp. (LWDB) 1,202.00p 1.35%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 79.82p 1.30%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Rightmove (RMV) 508.20p -4.65%
Henderson Far East Income Ltd. (HFEL) 254.00p -3.80%
Kier Group (KIE) 310.80p -2.90%
Rank Group (RNK) 85.90p -2.72%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 702.00p -2.36%
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 726.00p -2.22%
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 356.00p -2.06%
Renishaw (RSW) 5,480.00p -1.97%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 273.20p -1.95%
Templeton Emerging Markets Inv Trust (TEM) 308.00p -1.92%
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