London, May 18, 2026, 14:06 BST
SSE PLC traded higher in London on Monday afternoon, getting back some of Friday’s loss as electricity names moved up with the broader market. Barclays/Refinitiv delayed figures had SSE up 1.63% at 2,308p to sell and 2,309p to buy at 13:48 BST. The FTSE 100 was ahead 0.98%, and electricity stocks added 1.42%.
SSE’s bounce is in focus after Friday’s rough session. The stock ended the week at 2,271p, down 7.65%, trading 9.31 million shares. Now investors wait to see if Monday is just a technical rebound or if things have settled ahead of results.
Utilities are seen as bond proxies — investors buy them for steady dividends, so they tend to fall when government bond yields go up. UK midcaps dropped on Monday with inflation concerns and political uncertainty pressuring the market. James Smith, developed markets economist for the UK at ING, said the “political centre of gravity is likely to shift left,” though politicians are aware “there are limits.” Reuters
Pressure isn’t just coming from home. Reuters said Monday that new Gulf attacks sent oil and bond yields up, with the Strait of Hormuz still seeing heavy disruption. George Lagarias, chief economist at Forvis Mazars, said markets were “pricing the possibility” the waterway stays closed. Reuters
SSE’s next event is on the calendar. The power networks and renewables firm, based in Perth, will release preliminary results for the year ended March 31 on May 28.
SSE’s numbers will include an accounting twist. In a May 13 update, SSE said a change in how it treats Neos Networks in its books means it can’t book more losses once the carrying value drops to zero. That pushed its 2025/26 adjusted earnings per share guidance up to 149p-154p from a previous 147p-152p. The metric strips out certain items SSE says mask the core earnings picture. SSE said the Neos accounting tweak added 1.9p to the figure. Forecast for adjusted net debt and hybrid capital stayed above 10 billion pounds.
SSE gave an operating update in April, guiding for renewable generation output of around 14.5 terawatt hours for 2025/26, which would be a 10% rise from the previous year. Regulated networks are set to see capital investment jump by about 60%. Group capital spending is projected at roughly 3.5 billion pounds.
SSE is sticking with its 33 billion pound, five-year investment program. The company says 80% of that will go to regulated electricity networks. About 22 billion pounds of the spending is set for the high-voltage transmission grid in northern Scotland. Chief Executive Martin Pibworth called the grid upgrade a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.” He described the investment plan as “focused, disciplined and comprehensively funded.” SSE
National Grid shares bounced 2.27% to 1,215p on Monday after dropping 7.94% Friday. The move is similar to what SSE saw, suggesting the rebound was broader than just SSE. National Grid is another UK electricity-network owner.
But rebounds aren’t guaranteed. Higher gilt yields and expensive oil might make debt-heavy, dividend-focused utilities less attractive. On Friday, Reuters said utilities — “often treated as a bond proxy” — dropped 7.5%. Neil Wilson at Saxo UK said looser fiscal policy would not go over well with markets. Reuters
Monday’s move only fixes part of the problem for now. The May 28 results have to prove that higher renewables output and more network spending are turning into real cash, better debt control and firmer dividend backing, not just a cleaner adjusted EPS line.
