London stocks opened slightly higher on Thursday, lifted by strong gains for Rentokil and London Stock Exchange Group, as investors navigated a flurry of earnings updates and rising geopolitical tension between Russia and the US.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 9,515.00, the FTSE 250 gained 0.2% to 22,275.01, and the AIM All-Share rose 0.5% to 771.74.
Rentokil led the blue-chip board, soaring 10% after reaffirming its outlook and reporting third-quarter organic revenue growth of 3.4%, driven by strong performance in North America.
London Stock Exchange Group climbed 5.5% after confirming a deal for 11 major global banks to take a 20% stake in its Post Trade Solutions arm for £170 million, valuing the division at £850 million. LSEG also raised its 2025 Ebitda margin guidance to the top end of its range.
Lloyds traded flat after posting a 36% drop in quarterly profit to £1.17 billion, reflecting an £800 million charge for motor finance redress.
In the FTSE 250, Renishaw slipped 4.6% on weaker quarterly revenue, while Kerry Group gained 2.3% after reaffirming full-year guidance and highlighting strong growth in the Americas.
Geopolitical risk helped lift oil prices after US President Donald Trump announced new sanctions on Russia’s Rosneft and Lukoil, saying talks with Vladimir Putin “went nowhere.” The move marks a sharp policy shift and follows the collapse of plans for a new US-Russia summit. European leaders followed with fresh sanctions of their own, further tightening pressure on Moscow.
Wall Street closed lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones falling 0.7%, the S&P 500 down 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite off 0.9%, tempering global sentiment ahead of Trump’s Asia trip and renewed US-China trade talks.