LONDON, May 10, 2026, 18:03 BST
- FTSE 100 enters the week coming off a third consecutive weekly decline. Investors now look to UK growth figures set for release on Thursday.
- London shares keep finding direction from oil, the pound, and gilt yields—those three continue to set the tone.
- Vodafone, Greggs, Burberry, National Grid, and Intertek all land on the watchlist.
FTSE 100 opens the week still feeling the weight of Friday’s 0.4% drop to 10,233.07—marking a third straight week in the red. Investors are eyeing a loaded UK data calendar, while Middle East tensions keep nerves tight. With London’s cash market closed on Sunday, regular trading gets going again Monday. Main session runs 8:00 to 16:30 local time.
The real question now: will buyers actually step back in? But first comes Thursday’s UK GDP release, a check on whether growth was still holding up before rising energy bills started pinching households and businesses.
The Office for National Statistics will release its March GDP figure, along with the initial read on first-quarter growth, at 7:00 a.m. Thursday. Weak numbers here—GDP is the headline metric for the U.K. economy—could spark fresh speculation about Bank of England moves and weigh on local equities.
The week’s significance comes into sharper focus now. Last month, the Bank of England opted to keep Bank Rate steady at 3.75%—an 8-1 split—pointing to “highly uncertain” global energy prices driven by the Middle East conflict. UK inflation stood at 3.3% in March, and policymakers warned it could pick up again later this year as energy costs filter through. Bank of England
Sterling caught a lift on Friday, with 10-year gilt yields slipping, after Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted he would hang on despite Labour’s local-election setbacks. UK government bonds and the pound remain intertwined with the equity trade. “A bit of a sigh of relief from the gilt market,” said Matthew Amis, investment director at Aberdeen. Lloyd Harris at Premier Miton wasn’t buying the calm: “the fireworks are still to come.” Reuters
Traders have a full slate of corporate updates ahead. According to Hargreaves Lansdown’s weekly rundown, Compass Group and Victrex kick things off Monday. Tuesday brings results from Vodafone, Imperial Brands, and Greggs. On Wednesday, eyes turn to TUI and Spirax, before Burberry, ITV, and National Grid round out the week on Thursday.
Costs are back in focus for consumer stocks. Hargreaves Lansdown’s equity analyst Aarin Chiekrie said Greggs has kept rolling out new stores and extended trading hours, but the UK environment was challenging even before, and the conflict in the Middle East probably made shoppers “tighten their purse strings.” Hargreaves Lansdown
Airline and travel shares could see more swings after British Airways parent IAG trimmed its outlook Friday, warning that profit, cash flow, and capacity for the year will fall short of earlier estimates, citing rising jet fuel prices and supply hiccups. IAG now pegs fuel expenses at around 9 billion euros for the year. Rivals Air France-KLM and easyJet have also pointed to mounting pressure from surging fuel bills.
IAG Chief Executive Luis Gallego said the group was “actively managing the uncertainty” caused by higher fuel prices. J.P. Morgan analyst Harry Gowers had a more measured take, noting the conflict would put IAG’s resilience and cash generation to the test. Reuters
Intertek could see renewed attention after turning down EQT’s latest offer—an 8.93 billion pound bid, its third and sweetened again. The testing group said Friday the proposal didn’t reflect its true value and flagged execution risk. EQT now faces a May 14 deadline to decide if it will formalize its bid.
London’s trading action mirrored a broader pullback. European equities slipped Friday—STOXX 600 gave up 0.7%, Germany’s DAX declined 1.3%—as jittery markets reacted to fresh Middle East tensions. “Investors know these steps toward peace aren’t going to be nice, clean, and linear,” said Richard Flax, chief investment officer at Moneyfarm. Reuters
Still, the risk is obvious. Gulf markets slid on Sunday, pressured by renewed drone incidents and the cloud over Iran peace negotiations—sentiment took a hit. Aramco Chief Executive Amin Nasser put it bluntly: even if tankers start moving again through the Strait of Hormuz, energy markets won’t snap back overnight. For the FTSE 100, the old divide sticks. Oil and defence look set to draw support from the turmoil. Airlines, retailers, and stocks sensitive to rates, though, appear headed for a tougher stretch.
