FTSE 100 shares round-up: Relx, Unilever, Games Workshop

A fresh FTSE 100 index all-time high moved into view today after oil prices weakened, RELX (LSE:REL) rallied on re-rating hopes and stocks benefited from upgraded Unilever (LSE:ULVR) guidance.

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The blue-chip benchmark lifted over 74 points at one stage to 10,856.51, which compares with the intraday 10,935 and closing record of 10,910 set on the eve of the Middle East war on 27 February.

The FTSE 100 has added 9.5%, or nearly 1,000 points since finishing at 9,894 on 23 March, a session when the top flight index at one point traded as low as 9,670.

Today's dealings benefited from a third consecutive fall for the price of Brent crude oil, which at $86 a barrel has dipped from Thursday's recent peak of $100 due to renewed US-Iran talks.

A positive start to the results season on both sides of the Atlantic has also helped, although tougher tests await with figures by US hyperscalers Meta Platforms Inc Class A (NASDAQ:META), Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and about a third of the FTSE 100 index over the course of this week.

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Monetary policy meetings by the US Federal Reserve, Bank of England and Bank of Japan also have the potential to trigger spikes in volatility, while concerns about AI infrastructure spending have already impacted Wall Street and Asia-focused semiconductor firms.

Unilever topped today's FTSE 100 index risers board after the Dove and Persil owner's second-quarter underlying sales growth rate of 5.8% came in well ahead of the City consensus of 4.3%.

The fact that this was driven by strong growth in North America and Latin America boosted sentiment towards other global consumer-focused stocks including Dettol firm Reckitt Benckiser Group (LSE:RKT), caterer Compass Group (LSE:CPG), while drinks group Diageo (LSE:DGE) got the additional benefit of a positive read-across from the results of LVMH wine and spirits.

Imperial Brands (LSE:IMB) and British American Tobacco (LSE:BATS) joined the rally, while car insurer Admiral Group (LSE:ADM) put on 142p to trade at a record 3,732p after Citi moved to a Buy recommendation.

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The Relx share price recovery also continued as some of this year's AI disruption fears have eased to leave the LexisNexis and Elsevier owner at its highest level since April.

The latest rise of 92p to 2,774p was built on a positive response to Thursday's interim results, when Relx posted a 9% rise in adjusted profit to £1.7 billion and 11% uplift in earnings per share to 68.6p.

Chief executive Erik Engstrom added that AI was enabling Relx to develop and launch higher value-add products at a faster pace, as well as to keep cost growth below revenue growth.

Lifting its price target to 3,950p, Bank of America said on Friday that the half-year figures offered reassurance on the duration of growth in the company's key Legal and Scientific, Technical & Medical divisions.

It said: “We struggle to reconcile prevailing AI concerns with both an accelerating top line - in the areas AI concerns are most acute - and expanding margins.”

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The bank said the shares are poised for a significant and sustained re-rating from their current level of 13 times forecast earnings. This is a discount to US info services peers on 16 times and well below the five-year average 16.5 times.

Counterparts at UBS have a price target at 3,600p while Deutsche Bank edged up 50p to 3,100p following the results.

On the FTSE 100 index fallers board, another record-breaking set of Games Workshop Group (LSE:GAW) results failed to re-energise shares after their march to a record 22,000p at the end of June.

They drifted 54p to 19,680p in today's session, even though the Warhammer hobby firm overcame tough year-on-year comparisons to lift pre-tax profits by a bigger-than-expected 5.5% to £275.7 million in the year to 31 May.

The head of the company's remuneration committee called the performance “remarkable” as core sales grew 10.9% to £626.8 million and the gross margin improved to 71.1%.

Chief executive Kevin Rountree highlighted the level of consistency sought in the business by reporting year-on-year growth in core business sales in 102 out of 120 months up to May.

The misses were due to factors such as Covid, Brexit or comparisons with new release launches, or snow fall at its distribution hub in Memphis earlier this year.

Rountree added: “The other one this year was in May 2026, we missed by £1.5 million, that still hurts. That was due to a poor execution of our plan in the final week of the year.

“The operational directors were distracted by the detailed planning for the launch of the 11th edition of Warhammer 40,000 in June 2026. But still, no excuses, lessons have been learnt.”

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The annual results included a dividend of 140p a share for payment on 5 October, lifting the total so far to 230p from 140p in 2025/26. The company only makes payments out of “truly surplus capital”, which highlights the strength of cash flow at the start of the financial year.

The group also recognised the “tireless” efforts of staff through a profit share scheme cash award of £17.7 million or £5,000 per staff member.

City firm Peel Hunt left its price target at 22,000p following the “impressive” results.

It said statistics on the health of the hobby were encouraging and that there were a number of positive developments, such as progress on Amazon's adaptation of the Warhammer 40,000 universe into films and television series.