Source: Sharecast
Housebuilder Persimmon jumped to the top of the index as it said underlying operating profit for 2026 was set to be towards the upper end of consensus as it posted a rise in full-year profit and completions, with growth across all three brands.
In the year to the end of December 2025, underlying operating profit rose 17% to £472.1m, while underlying pre-tax profit was 13% higher at £445.6m. Completions ticked up 12% to 11,905 and the new home average sales price grew 4% to £278,203.
Assuming the Iran conflict and its impact are short, the housebuilder expects to deliver between 12,000 and 12,500 completions in the year, with underlying operating profit towards the upper end of current consensus expectations of between £486m and £517m.
Miners Anglo American and Antofagasta both gained as copper prices rallied, while engine maker Rolls-Royce - which has been hit by worries about a reduction in travel demand amid the Middle East conflict - also rose.
Pershing Square Holdings shot up after Bill Ackman announced plans to list Pershing Square on the New York Stock Exchange in a new closed-end fund, Pershing Square USA (PSUS). PSUS will be managed by Pershing Square Capital Management and is looking to raise $5bn in capital, $2.2bn of which will come from the initial public offering.
Oil giants BP and Shell gushed lower as oil prices fell after US President Donald Trump signalled that the war with Iran could be nearing an end.
Defence firm BAE Systems was also a little weaker.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Persimmon (PSN) 1,306.50p 7.32%
Fresnillo (FRES) 3,752.00p 5.87%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,303.00p 5.66%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,303.50p 5.41%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,832.00p 4.92%
Barclays (BARC) 412.30p 4.06%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 371.70p 4.00%
Spirax Group (SPX) 7,290.00p 3.97%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,182.00p 3.90%
SEGRO (SGRO) 751.80p 3.86%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 7,902.00p -3.28%
BP (BP.) 499.25p -1.99%
Diageo (DGE) 1,503.50p -1.25%
The Sage Group (SGE) 831.80p -1.16%
Shell (SHEL) 3,173.50p -0.92%
Relx plc (REL) 2,625.00p -0.83%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 456.50p -0.59%
BAE Systems (BA.) 2,249.00p -0.49%
Compass Group (CPG) 2,271.00p -0.39%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,604.00p -0.35