Lunchtime market roundup: EQT interest boosts Intertek; easyJet falls

Stock prices in Europe were higher at Thursday midday, amid optimism of a resolution to the Middle East conflict, while among individual shares, there was a host of M&A developments in London.

‘For the most part, markets are still clinging to hopes of a resolution to the Middle East conflict, with a decent advance in the US and Asia followed up by more modest gains in Europe,’ AJ Bell analyst Dan Coatsworth commented.

The FTSE 100 index rose 52.19 points, 0.5%, at 10,611.77. The FTSE 250 was up 191.55 points, 0.9%, at 22,857.14, and the AIM all-share edged up 0.68 of a point, 0.1%, at 796.70.

The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 1,057.70, the Cboe UK 250 was up 1.1% at 19,947.29, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.7% at 18,056.80.

In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.5%.

Trump said Wednesday that leaders of Israel and Lebanon will speak Thursday, after they held a high-level face-to-face meeting in Washington Tuesday – the first such negotiation since 1993.

‘Trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon. It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. It will happen tomorrow,’ Trump wrote without specifying who will be involved or offering further details.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are called to open 0.1% higher.

The pound was quoted at $1.3541 early Thursday afternoon, down from $1.3577 at the London equities close on Wednesday. Against the euro, sterling edged down to €1.1498 from €1.1502 a day prior.

The euro traded at $1.1777 on Thursday, down from $1.1805 late Wednesday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JP¥159.03, lower than JP¥158.97.

According to data published from the Office for National Statistics on Thursday, UK gross domestic product rose 0.5% in the three months to February 2026, picking up from 0.3% growth in the three months to January and exceeding the FXStreet-cited consensus of a 0.3% increase.

In London, Intertek jumped 9.9%. Noting recent press speculation, EQT confirmed it submitted a proposal to acquire the assurance, inspection, product testing and certification firm. Intertek rejected the approach, and EQT is now ‘considering its options’.

Tesco shares rose 1.9%. It upped its free cash flow goal, announced a new buyback and set out a wider range of guidance due to ‘uncertainty caused by the conflict in the Middle East’.

The grocer reported revenue and profit ahead of expectations, and it unveiled a new £500 million cost saving aim.

Pretax profit in the year to February 28 grew 8.5% to £2.40 billion from £2.22 billion. Adjusted operating profit edged up 0.8% to £3.15 billion from £3.13 billion, topping the company-compiled consensus of £3.10 billion and ahead of the grocer’s own guidance range of £2.9 billion to £3.1 billion.

Revenue, which excludes value-added tax but includes fuel, rose 5.4% to £73.71 billion from £69.92 billion, beating consensus of £72.55 billion.

Tesco’s free cash flow increased 12% to £1.96 billion from £1.75 billion. Tesco upped its medium-term free cash flow guidance range to £1.5 billion to £2.0 billion, from £1.4 billion to £1.8 billion previously.

Looking to the new year, it expects adjusted operating profit between £3.0 billion and £3.3 billion.

‘Reflecting the increased uncertainty caused by the conflict in the Middle East, we are providing a wider range of guidance than we were previously planning. Much will depend upon the duration of the conflict and in particular, the potential implications for UK households and the economy more broadly,’ Tesco said.

The firm announced a further share buyback of £750 million to be completed by April of next year. In addition, it announced a 9.7p final dividend, an increase from 9.45p. It takes the full-year payout to 14.5p, a 5.8% rise from 13.7p.

Elsewhere in the retail space, Dunelm fell 3.9%. It reported a rise in third quarter sales, but shares fell as it predicted annual profit at the lower end of expectations.

The Leicester-based homewares retailer said sales in the 13 weeks to March 28 rose 2.1% on-year to £472 million. Year-to-date, sales are 3.1% higher at £1.40 billion. Growth picked up from 1.6% in the second quarter, but was slower than the 6.2% stride in the first. It was also cooler than the 6.3% rise in the third quarter a year prior.

‘As previously reported, the third quarter started well, with growth in line with our first half performance, following a good winter sale and a positive response to new spring ranges. The universal appeal of our offer continued to resonate with customers, however more recently, and particularly in March, we experienced a period of broad-based softening,’ Dunelm said. ‘Gross margin increased by 30bps year-on-year in the quarter. Whilst we continue to benefit from the FX tailwind seen in the first half, we also saw customers seeking value, buying into more discounted products compared to full price lines.’

Dunelm said it is ‘navigating the impact of instability in the Middle East’. It expects only a ‘small direct cost impact in this financial year’.

‘We have a strong calendar of events planned for Q4, and confidence in our ability to continue to deliver a compelling proposition to our customers. However, global events have resulted in a more uncertain external environment, and we are not assuming any immediate improvement to consumer confidence,’ it added.

As a result, it expects pretax profit for financial 2026 to be towards the lower end of consensus expectations, which span £210 million to £217 million. In the year ended June 2025, pretax profit increased 2.7% to £211.0 million from £205.4 million.

Entain shot up 6.5%. It backed its annual guidance as it hailed ‘strong momentum’, with revenue in the UK & Ireland segment and Australia beating expectations.

The Ladbrokes Coral owner said net gaming revenue in the first quarter of 2026 rose 3% on-year at constant currency.

Entain on Thursday backed its guidance range for online NGR growth of 5% to 7% at constant currency.

‘Entain remains comfortable with market expectations for FY26 group underlying Ebitda and reiterates its confidence in generating at least £500 million of annual adjusted cashflow in 2028,’ the firm said.

Ebitda consensus stands at £1.13 billion, excluding BetMGM parent fees.

Fellow gambling firm Evoke surged 13%.

easyJet fell 5.0% as the carrier said it expects a wider first-half loss, hurt by the conflict in the Middle East and competition in some markets.

The Luton, Bedfordshire-based budget airline said it expects to report a headline pretax loss between £540 million and £560 million for the six months to the end of March, compared to a £394 million loss for the prior year.

CAB Payments shares climbed 11% as it said it would be minded to accept the latest StoneX M&A tilt, worth £287 million.

The London-based payment processing firm encouraged the Helios consortium to ‘engage constructively’ with it and StoneX, as it said it believes the StoneX offer ‘would be in the best interests of the company’s shareholders as a whole, including minority shareholders’.

Elsewhere in M&A, Animalcare Group accepted a £235.2 million takeover approach from Charterhouse Capital Partners.

Shareholders in the York, England-based veterinary services and pharmaceuticals firm will receive 336 pence cash for every share held.

The stock jumped 34%.

Still to come on Thursday is the latest US initial jobless claims reading at 1330 BST.

Brent was trading at $96.18 a barrel early Thursday afternoon, up from $95.40 late Wednesday. Gold was quoted at $4,810.68 an ounce, higher than $4,802.65 on Wednesday.

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