Market Live Email
Barclays FY profits jump 13pc, AstraZeneca FY revenues up 9pc
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Tuesday 10 Feb 2026
(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN
The FTSE 100 was expected to open 23.5 points higher ahead of the bell on Tuesday, after wrapping up the previous session 0.16% firmer at 10,386.23.
STOCKS TO WATCH
British banking giany Barclays lifted performance targets on Tuesday after annual profits jumped 13% as it also unveiled a new £1bn buyback. Pre-tax profits came in at £9.1bn, with group income up 9% to £29.1bn, which was also boosted by the acquisition of Tesco Bank. Barclays said it was now aiming for a return on tangible equity of more than 14% in 2028 and capital distributions of greater than £15bn in the next two years.
AstraZeneca posted a jump in full-year revenues and earnings on Tuesday, boosted by strong demand for its oncology drugs. AstraZeneca said total revenues in the year ended 31 December had grown by 9%, or by 8% on a constant currency basis, to $58.7bn, while core earnings per share were 11% stronger at constant currency exchange rates at $9.16. Both figures were in line with expectations.
Housebuilder Bellway said on Tuesday that despite "subdued trading" through autumn, it had delivered a "robust" first half performance, with total housing completions growing 2.7% to 4,702 at an average selling price of roughly £322,000. Bellway also highlighted that it was on track to achieve its full-year volume target of around 9,200 homes as it pointed to "clear signs of improving customer demand" in the early weeks of the spring selling season.
Homeware retailer Dunelm reported a drop in interim profits following softer trading in the second quarter. In the 26 weeks to 27 December, Dunelm said pre-tax profits had fallen 7.5% to £114m, even as revenues ticked up 3.6% to £926.3m.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
It would take 137 years for lower-income families in the UK to see their living standards double at the current rate of growth, according to a thinktank. A two-decade stagnation in disposable incomes has created a "mood of unease" across the country, the Resolution Foundation says, warning of the risk of "further political disruption" unless pay growth accelerates. In the 40 years to 2005, the typical disposable income of working-age families in the poorest half of the population doubled, after growing by 1.8% a year on average once adjusted for inflation, according to the thinktank. In the final decade of that period, growth in disposable incomes rose by 4% a year and looked on course to double within 18 years. - Guardian
The UK and US have sunk to new lows in a global index of corruption, amid a "worrying trend" of democratic institutions being eroded by political donations, cash for access and state targeting of campaigners and journalists. Experts and businesspeople rated 182 countries based on their perception of corruption levels in the public sector to compile a league table that was bookended by Denmark at the top with the lowest levels of corruption and South Sudan at the bottom. - Guardian
Wind and solar farms seeking to connect to Britain's electricity grid are facing "widespread delays" in a major blow to Labour and Ed Miliband's net zero targets. Ofgem, the energy regulator, has warned that 210 of the 340 green energy projects scheduled to connect to the grid in 2026 and 2027 are set to miss the target. - Telegraph
Small businesses could face a £680m bill as a result of Labour's plan to let trade unions into workplaces. Union officials will be granted "statutory right of access" later this year under the Employment Rights Act spearheaded by Angela Rayner. At present, unions have access to workplaces through ad-hoc arrangements. Where they can't reach a voluntary arrangement with a business, they can act through individual employees. - Telegraph
HSBC and Barclays are facing a $12bn lawsuit over a Jersey trust allegedly linked to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. The UK banks and related entities are among the defendants in a United States legal claim concerning La Hougue, a now defunct offshore trust business suspected of being at the heart of a large fraud. - The Times
US CLOSE
All three of Wall Street's benchmark indices finished higher on Monday, with tech stocks outperforming on a quiet day ahead of some closely anticipated economic data and corporate earnings over the coming days.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.04% at 50,135.87, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.47% to 6,964.82, and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.90% stronger at 23,238.67.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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