(Reuters) – British stocks ended mixed on Thursday, with bright forecasts from Rolls-Royce and the London Stock Exchange Group boosting the FTSE 100, while Ocado slid on disappointment over the roll-out of its robotic sites, dragging down the midcap index.
The FTSE 100 gained 0.3% to touch a one-week high.
The FTSE 350 aerospace and defence index surged 9.1%, boosted by a near 16% jump in Rolls-Royce shares to all-time highs after the engine maker raised its mid-term targets.
London Stock Exchange Group advanced 6.1% after the exchange operator forecast continued growth and improved profitability in 2025.
Aviva rose 4.2% after the insurer beat full-year profit estimates on double-digit growth in general insurance premiums.
On the flip side, ad group WPP plunged 16% after it forecast its revenue and profit to be flat at best this year because of a weak Chinese market and uncertainty in the United States.
The Europe-wide STOXX 600 slipped 0.5% as tariff-sensitive stocks came under pressure after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would impose 25% “reciprocal” tariffs on cars and other goods from the European Union.
Also keeping global investors on edge, Trump said that his proposed 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods will go into effect on March 4 as scheduled.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is due to meet Trump in Washington later in the day, with tariffs a key issue.
The mid-cap index slipped 0.9% to touch a one-month closing low. Online supermarket and technology group Ocado slid 18% on market concerns the global roll-out of its robotic sites is too slow.
(Reporting by Sanchayaita Roy and Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza and Andrew Heavens)
