British stocks drop, European markets mixed

The blue-chip index FTSE 100 shed 0.5%, and the GBP/USD was flat against the dollar at 1.3568

British stocks dropped on Wednesday, while European markets traded mixed.

The blue-chip index FTSE 100 shed 0.5%, and the GBP/USD was flat against the dollar at 1.3568. The DAX index in Germany gained 0.2%, the CAC 40 in France dropped 0.6%.

Aegon Ltd announced it will sell Aegon UK to Standard Life for £2.0 billion, completing the strategic review of its UK operations. The proceeds consist of a 15.3% shareholding in Standard Life, equivalent to 181.1 million shares, and £0.75 billion in cash.

Barratt Redrow PLC reaffirmed its full-year home completion guidance despite heightened macroeconomic uncertainty stemming from the Middle East war, with shares gaining 1.2%.

The U.K. homebuilder maintained its target of delivering between 17,200 and 17,800 total home completions for fiscal 2026, including approximately 600 joint venture homes. The company said it expects adjusted profit before tax to align with consensus expectations of around £568 million.

Antofagasta PLC reported a decline in copper production in the first quarter of 2026 but was still ahead of company-compiled consensus.

The Chilean miner’s shares added 3%. Antofagasta produced 143,000 tonnes of copper in the three months to March, down 8% from the same period a year earlier, but was ahead of the company’s consensus of 138,000.

Hunting PLC reported first-quarter core earnings of $23.2 million, sending shares down by 3%.

The Q1 figure represented a 10% EBITDA margin and just 15.5% of the midpoint of the company’s unchanged full-year guidance range of $145 million to $155 million.

Rank Group PLC raised its full-year underlying operating profit guidance to at least £68 million, sending shares up over 8%.

The guidance beat the upper end of a company-compiled analyst consensus range of £65.1 million to £68.2 million for the 2025-26 financial year.