London, Feb 23, 2026, 08:35 GMT — Regular session.
- National Grid shares up 0.07% at 1,347p in early trade
- U.S. tariff pivot keeps risk mood jumpy, supporting defensive UK names
- Investors look to gilts and National Grid’s May results date for direction
National Grid shares edged up 0.07% to 1,347 pence by 0820 GMT, after ending Friday at 1,346 pence, with about 226,000 shares traded early in the session. Investorschronicle
The stock held its ground as global markets grappled with fresh uncertainty around U.S. trade policy after President Donald Trump’s shifting tariff plans, a bout of volatility that pushed investors back toward defensives. “The tariff landscape is now more uncertain than before,” said Rodrigo Catril, a senior FX strategist at NAB, as Wall Street futures slipped ahead of Nvidia’s results this week. Reuters
That matters for UK utilities because they often trade like a bond proxy — investors buy them for stable cash flows and dividends — and the direction of government bond yields can sway valuations. The UK 10-year gilt yield was around 4.35% late Sunday, based on delayed market data. Ft
In currency markets, sterling firmed alongside the euro after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against earlier tariffs, though traders were still trying to game out what the new levies mean for growth and bond supply. “It weakens the dollar” if it benefits non-U.S. growth, said Sim Moh Siong, currency strategist at OCBC Bank in Singapore. Reuters
National Grid’s operations sit squarely in regulated networks: it owns and maintains the high-voltage electricity transmission network in England and Wales, and provides electricity and natural gas service in parts of the U.S., including New York and Massachusetts. Nationalgrid Nationalgridus
With no fresh company statement on Monday morning, traders were left watching the usual levers for a capital-heavy utility: funding costs, currency swings and any shift in risk appetite that pulls money out of defensive stocks.
The next clear company marker on the calendar is its full-year results on May 14, with investors also tracking the late-May ex-dividend dates flagged on its investor events schedule. Nationalgrid
But the support can fade quickly. If tariffs add to inflation worries, or bond yields push higher again, the bid for dividend payers can cool — and utilities can lag when markets rotate back into cyclicals.
For the week ahead, traders will keep one eye on U.S. tariff details and another on geopolitics, including U.S.-Iran nuclear talks due in Geneva on Thursday, which have been moving energy prices and broader risk sentiment. Reuters
