London, June 25, 2026, 18:09 BST
- FTSE 100 finished up 0.65% at 10,529.89
- FTSE 250 rose 0.26% to close at 23,161.41
- Median blue chip is up 0.27%, with 60 stocks in the index higher
- easyJet is up 6.41% after giving Castlelake limited access to its data
FTSE 100 ends up 0.65% on Thursday; FTSE 250 also gains
The FTSE 100 finished Thursday 68.26 points higher at 10,529.89, climbing 0.65%. The blue-chip index hit 10,575.31 earlier. The FTSE 250 added 59.89 points, or 0.26%, to close at 23,161.41.
Sixty stocks in the FTSE 100 rose on the day, 37 slipped and three finished flat. The typical stock gained 0.27%, well below what the index showed. The equal-weighted average return came in at 0.52%, or 0.41% if you pull out 3i Group LON:III. By the numbers, 3i delivered about 22% of the equal-weight gain, based on closing prices. Index investors saw bigger gains than the average stock, but winners weren’t rare. Barratt Redrow (LON:BTRW) tacked on 4.63%, and Persimmon (LON:PSN) added 3.30%.
3i’s portfolio is still dominated by Action, with the 65% stake making up 75% of its net asset value. CEO Simon Borrows said Action was “set for a good quarter of profit growth.” Like-for-like sales increased 3.3% so far this year through June 21. The retailer added 105 new stores and finished with €699 million in cash, after a €450 million dividend paid in May. AJ Bell
Financials led with a 3.1% gain, the best among sectors. Five top FTSE-listed banks added an average 1.9%. BofA Global Research scrapped its earlier call for two Bank of England hikes in 2026, now seeing Bank Rate steady at 3.75%. Traders still bet on at least one more 25-basis-point hike by year-end. The sector climbed even as a major broker lowered its rate outlook.
Sterling was down 0.1% at $1.3161, having fallen 2.2% in June, its sharpest monthly drop since July 2025. Around two weeks ago, market expectations dropped from two Bank of England rate hikes to just one.
Brent crude dropped 0.34% to $73.49 a barrel, trading at lows not seen since February 27. “The backlog of vessels in the Persian Gulf is being cleared,” said Janiv Shah, analyst at Rystad Energy. The U.S. energy secretary said at least 20 million barrels had moved through the Strait of Hormuz in the last 24 hours. Reuters
easyJet LON:EZJ jumped 6.41% to 574.2 pence after turning down Castlelake’s fourth takeover approach, a £4.93 billion bid pitched at 650 pence a share. easyJet will provide Castlelake with some commercial data. “The narrative has definitively changed,” Goodbody’s Dudley Shanley said. Samuel Ziff at Oldfield Partners told Reuters that a new offer would have to be “significantly higher.” Castlelake has a deadline of July 5 for a firm offer. Reuters
Halfords (LON:HFD) guided for fiscal 2027 underlying pretax profit close to the top end of analysts’ £45.7 million to £52.3 million range. The company posted £45.4 million for the year ended April 3, beating the £40.3 million consensus. Shares in Advanced Medical Solutions Group (LON:AMS) surged up to 16.5% after the board agreed to a £715 million takeover offer, including debt, from H.B. Fuller NYSE:FUL. The 285-pence-a-share cash offer should complete by the end of 2026.
