UK Markets Daily: FTSE 100 Closes Up 1.1% on Thursday 15 October 2026

TL;DR: The FTSE 100 closed up 1.08% at 10,840.35 on Thursday, while the FTSE 250 rose 0.26%, gold rose 1.50% to $4,169.50 an ounce, and Brent crude rose 0.16% to $106.23 a barrel.

Market snapshot

Closing levels on 15 October 2026 (data as of 2026-10-15 16:35 London time):

What moved markets

• UK shares rose, with the FTSE 100 up 1.08% and the FTSE 250 up 0.26%. The data and headlines fetched today show no single clear driver for the moves, so we are not going to invent one.
• The pound rose 0.04% against the dollar to 1.33, while the euro rose 0.01% against the pound to 0.84.
• Gold rose 1.50% to $4,169.50 an ounce, while Brent crude rose 0.16% to $106.23 a barrel.
• Bitcoin was almost flat over 24 hours, up 0.01% to $82,015, while Ethereum fell 0.82% to $2,430.92.

Top UK business headlines

• Nandy 'minded to intervene' in Sky's £1.6bn takeover of ITV entertainment arm (BBC News)
• Healey says surprise UK growth is 'sign of resilience' ahead of Budget (BBC News)
• AI giant Anthropic woos potential investors ahead of stock market debut (BBC News)
• How backlash against data centres could shape the US midterm elections (BBC News)
• 'I paid thousands to a company for jobs that never came' (BBC News)

Tomorrow to Watch

The scheduled economic news that can move markets on Friday 16 October 2026, in UK times:

• 03:00: BOE Gov Bailey Speaks. A scheduled speech by the Governor of the Bank of England, listed in the early hours of Friday UK time while the IMF Meetings continue. Markets listen for any view on inflation, growth and interest rates. Comments on rates usually move the pound and UK bond yields.
• 04:30: Fed Chairman Warsh Speaks. A scheduled speech by the Chair of the US Federal Reserve. Markets listen for any view on US inflation and interest rates after this week of US price and spending data. It usually moves the dollar, US shares and gold.
• 10:00: Final CPI y/y, Final Core CPI y/y and Trade Balance (eurozone). The final reading of eurozone inflation for September, with the trade balance for August. Markets expect Final CPI y/y at 3.8% and Final Core CPI y/y at 2.5% on the published calendar. These figures usually move the euro, and so can move EUR/GBP.
• 13:30: Import Prices m/m (US). The change in the price of goods imported into the US for September. Markets expect a rise of 0.9% on the month on the published calendar. It is one more check on price pressures, and usually moves the dollar through interest rate expectations.
• 14:15: Industrial Production m/m and Capacity Utilization Rate (US). US factory, mining and utility output for September, and the share of capacity in use. Markets expect industrial production to rise 0.4% on the month and capacity utilization to come in at 76.5% on the published calendar. They usually move the dollar and US shares.
• All day: IMF Meetings. Friday is Day 5 of the IMF Meetings on the published calendar, with central bank and finance officials speaking around the meetings. Unscheduled comments can move currencies, although no single UK or US data release is listed for the day from the UK: the calendar checked for this edition shows no major UK data release scheduled on Friday.

Times and expectations are taken from the published economic calendar and can change. We explain what each release is and what it usually moves; we do not predict which way markets will go.

See the full UK Markets Daily hub, updated every weekday evening.

Figures are indicative closing levels and can be delayed. Nothing here is financial advice.