Economic News 12 February 2026 - 17 February 2026

London’s FTSE 100 closed up 0.71% at 10,548.38 on Tuesday as investors bet on a March Bank of England rate cut after UK unemployment rose to 5.2% and wage growth slowed. Sterling fell 0.71% against the dollar. Copper dropped 3.92%, gold lost 2.81%. InterContinental Hotels Group announced a $950 million buyback and a 10% dividend hike despite weaker U.S. results.

Applied Digital shares traded near $35.28 premarket Tuesday after a U.S. holiday, with Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures lower. The stock has been volatile following a sharp rise earlier this month. Recent insider sales occurred near $38.50. Traders await updates on leasing, power capacity, and the May 8 earnings report.

Experian shares edged up 0.12% to 2,541p in early London trading after the company disclosed it bought 400,000 shares on Feb. 13 as part of its ongoing buyback. The stock traded between 2,522p and 2,580p. Traders are watching for UK inflation data due Feb. 18.

Accenture shares closed up 1% at $224.23 Friday, then slipped 0.1% after hours. The stock remains about 43% below its 52-week high. No company-specific news drove the move; trading tracked broader market shifts tied to inflation data and AI concerns. Accenture will report second-quarter results on March 19.

Amazon shares fell 0.4% to $198.74 in premarket trading Friday, entering bear market territory after eight straight declines. The drop follows investor concerns over Amazon’s $200 billion capital spending plans for 2026, which exceed projected operating cash flow. AWS announced new cloud product updates Thursday. U.S. stock futures were steady ahead of January CPI data due at 8:30 a.m. ET.