
Investor gloom
London shares opened down, taking their cue from the investor gloom affecting the US markets.
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London shares opened down, taking their cue from the investor gloom affecting the US markets, with the Nasdaq falling back -1.00% and the S&P500 down -0.66%. Goldman Sachs lowered its fourth-quarter US growth forecast by 20 basis points to 1.8%.
European trading was also down over concerns about a possible return to political instability affecting the economy, after Italy’s deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini called for a general election. The FTSE MIB, was particularly affected (-2.48%), with the FTSE relatively insulated (-0.44%), on poor trade data but helped by a weakened sterling.
Russian cheer
Top of the FTSE benchmark is Roman Abramovich’s steel company Evraz, with its shares up 2.06%, after announcing solid interim results to end-June supported by positive trends in their key product markets, including a recovery of construction activity in Russia. Antofagasta was up 1.71%, after a strong quarter featuring a jump in copper production and falling costs. Rolls Royce was down -2.51%, due to significantly high cash outflow, as it battles to fix its new Trent engine.
Asian shares opened the week on a positive note after a difficult week, led by the Shanghai Composite on 0.99%, the Sensex on 0.68% and the Nikkei 225 on 0.44%.
Please note these products may not be available to trade in all regions.
London shares opened down, taking their cue from the investor gloom affecting the US markets, with the Nasdaq falling back -1.00% and the S&P500 down -0.66%. Goldman Sachs lowered its fourth-quarter US growth forecast by 20 basis points to 1.8%.
European trading was also down over concerns about a possible return to political instability affecting the economy, after Italy’s deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini called for a general election. The FTSE MIB, was particularly affected (-2.48%), with the FTSE relatively insulated (-0.44%), on poor trade data but helped by a weakened sterling.
Russian cheer
Top of the FTSE benchmark is Roman Abramovich’s steel company Evraz, with its shares up 2.06%, after announcing solid interim results to end-June supported by positive trends in their key product markets, including a recovery of construction activity in Russia. Antofagasta was up 1.71%, after a strong quarter featuring a jump in copper production and falling costs. Rolls Royce was down -2.51%, due to significantly high cash outflow, as it battles to fix its new Trent engine.
Asian shares opened the week on a positive note after a difficult week, led by the Shanghai Composite on 0.99%, the Sensex on 0.68% and the Nikkei 225 on 0.44%.
Please note these products may not be available to trade in all regions.
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FTSE 100 and GBP/USD forecast: UK data gives BoE March cut a further boost
The FTSE 100 edged higher to close in on last week’s record, as the pound weakened following the release of UK wages and Jobs data that puts a March rate cut firmly on the table, barring any surprises in tomorrow’s inflation report. Unless we see a sharp turnaround in data, I would be expecting another rate cut in June, and possibly more in the summer if inflation risks ease. This should keep the longer term FTSE 100 forecast firmly supported and keep a lid on sterling.

FTSE 100 forecast - Indices weekend outlook | February 16, 2026
With the US out on Monday for Presidents’ Day and China celebrating Spring Festival all week, it makes sense to focus on European markets to start the week off. So the FTSE 100 forecast is in focus for this week’s weekend indices outlook. We have plenty of UK, European and US earnings to look forward to as the week progresses, while key data from the UK and US will make rate cut expectations a key talking point on both sides of the pond.
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