The FTSE 100 has hit another all-time high this morning, with the index up five per cent since the start of 2025. London’s main index rose 0.46 per cent this morning before dropping back slightly, while the more domestically focused FTSE 250 jumped 0.

London's main index has hit another all-time high this morning, with the index up five per cent since the start of 2025 - but it could all end today

Smiths Group propped up the FTSE 100, rising more than 14% after the opening bell following news it had responded to activist investor calls to split up its business.

Shell shares have risen 13p to 2608p as the promise of another $3.5 billion buyback offset a bigger-than-expected fall in fourth quarter profits. The results by BT Group left its shares 4% or 6.1p lower at 140p, reflecting disappointment over a 3% drop in third quarter revenues to £5.2 billion.

US stocks rose on Thursday, with the Nasdaq (^IXIC) and S&P 500 (^GSPC) eyeing a comeback as investors digested news that the US economy expanded slower than economists had expected in the last three months of the year.

Britain's benchmark index closed at record peak on Thursday as investors cheered a healthy set of corporate updates, while a surge in precious metal miners also boosted the index.

One of Britain’s oldest industrial manufacturers has become the latest major listed company to say it is leaving the stock market.

The FTSE 100 pushed further into record territory as trading got underway on Friday, climbing 25 points to a new all-time high of 8,671. Smiths Group (LON: SMIN) PLC surged 14.7% to head the early risers after detailing plans for a strategic shift, which it said would unlock significant value.

U.S. stock indexes are drifting higher following a mostly encouraging batch of profit reports from big companies.

At 8,575, the FTSE 100 had climbed 42 points for the day and was just off its previous peak, reached earlier in the month, of 8,583. European stocks remained in record territory in the meantime, with the Stoxx Europe 600 at 534 and one point off its peak, seen earlier on Wednesday.

Chief Financial Officer Jess Merten said that the deal will generate a financial book gain of about $450 million and increase deployable capital by $900 million.

Stocks are ticking higher on Wall Street following a rush of profit reports from some of the country’s most influential companies. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% in early Thursday trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 14 points,