London, March 3, 2026, 08:25 GMT — Regular session
- RELX ticked 0.1% higher early in London, hovering close to 2,580p.
- The company said it bought back 500,000 shares on Monday.
- Oil prices and the Bank of England’s rate path are in focus for traders following Monday’s sharp risk-off move.
RELX (REL.L) ticked up 0.1% to 2,578 pence in the early London session Tuesday, after opening at 2,583 pence. Roughly 249,000 shares changed hands by 08:25 GMT for the FTSE 100-listed information and analytics group.
Investors are now sizing up whether continued buybacks have enough punch when risk appetite stays muted. With this stock, known for steady cash flow and recurring revenue, repurchase timing and price start to matter a lot more as markets turn choppy.
UK stocks took a bruising on Monday, battered by surging oil prices as turmoil in the Middle East rattled investors. The FTSE 100 dropped 1.2%. “If the issues persist, then the market will start to worry about new inflationary pressures and that could lower expectations for near-term interest rate cuts,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell. Reuters
RELX snapped up 500,000 ordinary shares on Monday via UBS AG London Branch, shelling out a volume-weighted average of 2,567.2031 pence per share. Prices for the trades ranged from 2,538 pence up to 2,590 pence. According to the company, the repurchased stock will go into treasury, lifting its total there to 24,837,957 shares.
On Monday, a separate filing listed total voting rights at 1,804,927,533, factoring in treasury shares. According to the notice, as of Feb. 27 the company’s share capital was 1,828,265,490 ordinary shares.
The London Stock Exchange on Monday posted a notice showing an 80,000-share “block admission” for RELX ordinary shares, tucked into a lengthy roster of new admissions. This particular entry didn’t make a dent in trading activity by itself, though it’s one of the line items investors monitor in the context of share counts and ongoing buybacks. Stockopedia
European shares are still feeling the aftershocks from Monday, when the STOXX 600 slid 1.7%—Reuters flagged that as the steepest single-day drop in three months. Banks and travel stocks took a beating, with oil prices surging amid fresh concerns about supply disruptions and shipping routes. “We expect a short, hard-hitting regional conflict,” Paul Christopher, head of global investment strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said. Reuters
But buybacks aren’t much of a shield in this kind of market. With energy prices hanging up there and investors dialing back hopes for rate cuts, defensives can slip too—particularly if selling picks up across the board and volatility kicks higher.
This week, traders have their eyes on whether oil’s jump pushes into rates pricing, as the Bank of England gears up for its Bank Rate call on March 19. Escalation headlines could move things, too. RELX’s next share buyback update isn’t far off.
