UK Shares Decline; LSEG Rises on Octus Deal

11:49 AM EDT, 10/22/2026 (MT Newswires) -- London's FTSE 100 fell 0.27% on Thursday as investors assessed the latest corporate updates and rising oil prices amid renewed tensions in the Middle East. The US and Israel are reportedly working on plans to escalate strikes against Iran after the US midterm elections, with energy infrastructure among the potential targets. "There is little reason to expect progress now," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said. Meanwhile, two people were killed in a drone attack on Saudi Arabia's Shaybah oil field, while another was killed in a strike on King Fahd International Airport. At home, manufacturing output volumes fell 10% in the quarter to October, compared with a 4% decline in the three months to September, according to the Confederation of British Industry's latest Industrial Trends Survey. Output declined in 11 of 17 subsectors, led by food, drink and tobacco, chemicals, and metal products. The total new orders balance stood at -16%, improving from -24% in July, as domestic and export orders remained weak. In corporate news, London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.L) was among the top risers on the blue-chip index, up 7.85%, after it agreed to acquire credit platform Octus from investment group Permira for $3.54 billion in cash. The British bourse operator also reported 2.41 billion pounds sterling in total income for the third quarter, up from 2.22 billion pounds a year ago. Pest-control company Rentokil Initial (RTO.L) jumped 8.36%, becoming the biggest gainer on the FTSE 100, after reporting third-quarter revenue growth, announcing Chief Financial Officer Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson's planned retirement, and unveiling a $200 million share buyback program. "We think the market will breathe a big sigh of relief today," RBC Capital Markets said. "We will not be changing forecasts and we continue to believe the International cost saving potential will offset NA investments. Whilst the LLM debate is likely to rumble on, it impacts a smaller proportion of the business vs peers, and we see enough operational and simplification self-help potential to drown out any impact. Valuation is now very attractive for a global market leader, with FCF/dividend yield support and the implied valuation for the NA business is now very low. We reiterate our Outperform rating." On the flip side, J Sainsbury (SBRY.L) swung to a loss attributable to shareholders after tax of 164 million pounds in the first half of fiscal 2027, from a profit of 155 million pounds a year earlier. The retailer forecast full-year profit of between 965 million pounds and 1.07 billion pounds, down from its previous guidance range of 975 million pounds to 1.08 billion pounds. Shares fell 2.40%. "Sainsbury's reported their results this morning, with a similar story to Tesco's [TSCO.L] recent results with a miss on [like for likes], a beat on operating profit and guidance pushed to the top end of the range," Bernstein said. "While a mixed bag, we would expect a slightly negative stock reaction this morning, given the weak LFL performance and the fact that consensus is already at the top end of the upgraded guidance range. There is also no upgraded buyback announcement to support the stock, like we saw at Tesco's H1 results."