FTSE 100 news overview: Wednesday 21 October 2026

Most positive coverage

Companies with 3+ relevant stories.

1. GSK +10.0 26 stories
   Coverage was dominated by the FDA approval of Hibsago for chronic hepatitis B and accelerated approval of Jemperli in rectal cancer.
2. AstraZeneca +8.7 38 stories
   Coverage was dominated by positive Phase III results for Tezspire in eosinophilic esophagitis, with a 69% remission rate and a 2.7% share rise reported.
3. Lion Finance Group +8.7 3 stories
   Coverage focused on Bank of Georgia winning Global Finance awards for AI and digital consumer banking, plus a new Visa Infinite private card from its wealth arm.
4. BAE Systems +8.5 21 stories
   Coverage was dominated by a Pentagon framework deal for BAE's APKWS guidance kits, which leans positive.
5. Shell +8.3 4 stories
   Coverage of Shell was mostly positive, led by analyst price target moves from Mizuho and Jefferies.

Most negative coverage

Companies with 3+ relevant stories.

1. Severn Trent −6.3 6 stories
   Coverage was dominated by an Ofwat finding that a Severn Trent unit breached its duties and by wider wastewater scrutiny, which weigh on the company.
2. Diageo −5.5 23 stories
   Coverage was dominated by Diageo's apology for a caustic soda spill that killed fish and wildlife on a Speyside burn, and by an Indian investigation into Scotch import classifications.
3. Land Securities −5.5 10 stories
   Coverage was dominated by Landsec shelving its £1.5bn Lewisham redevelopment after the new council's demands for more affordable homes, which reads as a setback.
4. Lloyds Banking Group −5.2 24 stories
   Coverage was dominated by a Google Cloud outage that disrupted Lloyds Bank and Halifax apps and websites alongside other firms.
5. International Airlines Group −4.8 23 stories
   Coverage was dominated by a British Airways flight being intercepted by German fighter jets after a radio blackout, which drew alarmed headlines.

Biggest moves from the day before

• Antofagasta +7.0 → −4.5
  Coverage was mainly about a lower share price and Citi cutting its price target, which leans negative.
• NatWest Group +7.0 → −4.5
  Coverage was dominated by NatWest's order for staff to spend more time in the office, which drew union backlash and criticism.
• Vodafone Group +5.5 → −3.3
  Coverage was dominated by Barclays downgrading Vodafone to underweight, citing AI threats to earnings and German exposure, alongside bearish technical commentary and share price falls.
• RELX +2.3 → −4.5
  Coverage was dominated by Citigroup's downgrade of RELX from Buy to Neutral on valuation, which weighs on sentiment.
• Shell +1.7 → +8.3
  Coverage of Shell was mostly positive, led by analyst price target moves from Mizuho and Jefferies.

Strongest and weakest tone

By sector

Every FTSE 100 company