FTSE 100 news tone · Friday 23 October 2026
FTSE 100 news overview: Friday 23 October 2026
News from the 24 hours to Friday morning, 23 October 2026. Every relevant headline about all 102 companies, read and scored for how good or bad it is for the company.
Market mood · 23 October
Average tone across the 91 companies with news
What the score means. Each score rates how good or bad the news was for the company, from −10 (clearly bad) to +10 (clearly good). 0 is neutral, and anything beyond ±6 is strong and rare. It rates the coverage, not the share price.
Mood over time
Average tone per day, 30 Sep to 23 Oct
Across every FTSE 100 company with relevant news that day, −10 to +10.
Average tone fell 0.1 points from 3.1 to 3.0 between 30 Sep and 23 Oct. Its high was 4.2 in 7 Oct.
Source: MarketFrame news analysis
| day | Average tone |
|---|---|
| 30 Sep | 3.1 |
| 1 Oct | 3.6 |
| 2 Oct | 2.1 |
| 3 Oct | 3.0 |
| 4 Oct | 1.8 |
| 5 Oct | 3.8 |
| 6 Oct | 3.4 |
| 7 Oct | 4.2 |
| 8 Oct | 3.3 |
| 9 Oct | 2.4 |
| 10 Oct | 2.8 |
| 11 Oct | 2.4 |
| 12 Oct | 3.3 |
| 13 Oct | 3.6 |
| 14 Oct | 2.8 |
| 15 Oct | 3.3 |
| 16 Oct | 2.8 |
| 17 Oct | 3.6 |
| 18 Oct | 2.1 |
| 19 Oct | 2.4 |
| 20 Oct | 1.6 |
| 21 Oct | 2.6 |
| 22 Oct | 4.1 |
| 23 Oct | 3.0 |
Weekly note · 20 October – 26 October
FTSE 100 news tone: pharma and property led, utilities and banks lagged
Coverage of the FTSE 100 stayed positive all week, and two drugmakers and two property firms led it. Severn Trent, 3i and Imperial Brands had the weakest reads.
Written by ScriptGrain from the week's stored scores, fact-checked.
Top stories · 23 October · by headlines
Barclays to cut 5,000 jobs in AI-driven cost driveneutral · BARC · 59 headlines
Headlines report Barclays plans to cut 5,000 jobs using AI, with Unite criticising and shares falling after Q3 results.
Rio Tinto to invest $1.9bn in Kangwinan bauxite projectstrongly positive · RIO · 48 headlines
Outlets report Rio Tinto committing US$1.9bn (about A$2.7bn) to the Kangwinan bauxite project in Queensland.
HSBC launches RedCoin Hong Kong dollar stablecoin on PayMepositive · HSBA · 46 headlines
Many outlets report HSBC rolling out the RedCoin HKD stablecoin to 3.3 million PayMe users.
London Stock Exchange Group: LSEG agrees to buy Octus from Permira for $3.5bnstrongly positive · LSEG · 35 headlines
LSEG confirmed talks to acquire Octus, with shares slumping.
Rentokil Q3 trading update confirms FY26 outlook, $200m buybackstrongly positive · RTO · 30 headlines
Outlets report Rentokil's Q3 update with 3.4% organic revenue growth, steady FY26 guidance and a new $200m buyback, with shares jumping.
Smith & Nephew merger talks with J&J orthopaedics unit collapsenegative · SN · 28 headlines
Many outlets, citing the FT, report talks collapsed over who would be CEO.
All 102 companies · 23 October
Every company and sectorSectors · 23 October · average tone
Oil and gas had the best coverage and Investment trusts the worst
Average tone of each sector's companies with news, −10 to +10.
Oil and gas is the largest at 8.0, ahead of aerospace and defence (6.5). Investment trusts is the lowest at −0.7.
Source: MarketFrame news analysis
| sector | Average tone |
|---|---|
| Oil and gas | 8.0 |
| Aerospace and defence | 6.5 |
| Media and technology | 5.8 |
| Housebuilders | 5.3 |
| Consumer staples | 4.5 |
| Pharma and healthcare | 4.4 |
| Travel and leisure | 4.1 |
| Retail | 3.4 |
| Utilities | 3.1 |
| Financial services | 2.4 |
| Real estate | 2.4 |
| Telecoms | 2.2 |
| Banks | 1.7 |
| Industrials and support services | 1.6 |
| Insurance | 0.9 |
| Mining | 0.1 |
| Investment trusts | −0.7 |
Biggest stories · the week to 23 October
| Story | Tone | Headlines |
|---|---|---|
| Barclays to cut 5,000 jobs in AI-driven cost driveBarclays · BARC · 26 October | −0.4neutral | 59 |
| LSEG agrees to buy Octus from Permira for $3.5bnLondon Stock Exchange Group · LSEG · 26 October | +6.0positive | 49 |
| Anglo American Q3 copper output falls 5% on Chile weatherAnglo American · AAL · 26 October | −0.3neutral | 49 |
| Rio Tinto to invest $1.9bn in Kangwinan bauxite projectRio Tinto · RIO · 26 October | +8.2strongly positive | 48 |
| HSBC launches RedCoin Hong Kong dollar stablecoin on PayMeHSBC · HSBA · 26 October | +5.9positive | 46 |
| FDA approves GSK's Hibsago for chronic hepatitis BGSK · GSK · 24 October | +10.0strongly positive | 45 |
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