FTSE 350 round-up: big moves for Rolls-Royce, NatWest and Wizz
The IMF’s downgrade of the UK economy today failed to dent mid-cap progress amid a largely positive session for investors in the FTSE 100 and 250 benchmarks.
14th April 2026 15:34
by Graeme Evans from interactive investor
Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images.
Rolls-Royce Holdings (LSE:RR.) and NatWest Group (LSE:NWG) today extended their recent recoveries as hopes of a de-escalation in the Middle East conflict boosted risk appetite across the FTSE 350 index.
The engine maker is up 18% and the lender 14% stronger in the space of the past fortnight, with British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG) also up by a double-digit percentage.
- Invest with ii: Open a Low Cost SIPP | What is a SIPP | Interactive investor Offers
Their upturn since 30 March is in line with the S&P 500 index, which last night returned above its pre-war level of 27 February after a rise of 8.5% over the last nine trading days.
Deutsche Bank said the strong run is in line with the geopolitical playbook where it typically takes about three weeks or 15 trading days for markets to bottom after a global shock.
The bank added: “Naturally, the conflict isn’t over, and suggesting that this return to parity signals a complete return to ‘normal’ might be premature. However, thus far, the market’s response largely aligns with historical patterns.”
The collapse of Pakistan peace talks lifted the price of Brent crude back above $100 a barrel on Monday but sentiment has since steadied on hopes of more face-to-face negotiations.
UBS Global Wealth Management warned that re-escalation remains a risk, particularly given the significant differences between Washington and Tehran over many issues.
The bank told clients today: “With both President Donald Trump and Iran’s leaders employing a hardline approach in recent rhetoric, we expect any path toward a clear de-escalation to be bumpy. But we also believe both sides remain incentivised to find a solution.”
- Will tech giants drive another US earnings beat?
- Sign up to our free newsletter for investment ideas, latest news and award-winning analysis
- The Income Investor: a FTSE 100 dividend play after 21% fall
The FTSE 100 index has risen by more than 7% since its low point for the year on 23 March, having started its recovery a week earlier than the S&P 500 index.
The defensive-leaning benchmark failed to match the scale of today’s gains seen on the Continent, partly due to heavy selling of tobacco stocks following the Imperial Brands (LSE:IMB) update.
A lower oil price of $97.65 a barrel also weighed on BP (LSE:BP.) and Shell (LSE:SHEL), while Tesco (LSE:TSCO) dropped ahead of Thursday’s annual results and BAE Systems (LSE:BA.) gave up 21.5p to stand at 2,224p.
Rolls-Royce provided significant support to the FTSE 100 after its shares rose by another 39p to 1,308.4p, meaning it now trades with a market capitalisation of £110 billion.
The shares set a year-to-date low of 1,106.5p on 30 March, having fallen by 19% from their record close of 1,363p seen on 4 March.
For NatWest, today’s rise of 13.4p to 626p means shares are back where they were prior to the war although there’s still some way back to the 694p seen before February’s annual results.
The shares have underperformed this year, mainly due to a year-long pause in buybacks after the lender surprised the City with a £2.7 billion wealth management takeover.
- Stockwatch: follow director buying in a small-cap showing strength?
- The 10 highest-yielding equity investment trusts
- 10 hottest ISA shares, funds and trusts: week ended 10 April 2026
The Middle East peace hopes helped IAG to rise 9.2p to 392p in today’s session, leaving the British Airways and Iberia owner on course for its highest close since early March. However, the shares were at a record of 457p prior to full-year results at the end of February.
Today’s strong session for travel-focused stocks was replicated in the FTSE 250 index as Wizz Air Holdings (LSE:WIZZ), easyJet (LSE:EZJ), Carnival (LSE:CCL) and WH Smith (LSE:SMWH) were the beneficiaries of strong demand.
The mid-cap benchmark outperformed the FTSE 100 by a considerable distance to trade at its highest level since 5 March.
Those gains held despite today’s warning from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the global energy shock will hit the UK the hardest among advanced economies. The IMF now sees growth of 0.8% this year, down from 1.3% previously.
The best-performing stock in the FTSE 250 was Ceres Power Holdings (LSE:CWR), with shares up 45.6p to 350p amid continued volatility in its share price. The clean energy firm recently announced a tie-up with British Gas owner Centrica (LSE:CNA), alongside its first-ever royalties in annual results.
These articles are provided for information purposes only. Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.
Full performance can be found on the company or index summary page on the interactive investor website. Simply click on the company's or index name highlighted in the article.