3I Group PLC

The FTSE 100 index on the London stock market closed up 0.91% on Friday, supported by a surge in HSBC shares and financial stocks. The index closed at 10,736.23 points, up 97.06 points, marking its second consecutive weekly gain. HSBC shares rose 1.7% after Allianz agreed to acquire HSBC's life insurance business in Singapore for 2.7 billion Singapore dollars, or 2.1 billion US dollars. Meanwhile, 3i Group shares climbed 3.1% after UBS raised its price target to 3,200 pence per share from 2,900 pence per share. Energy stocks fell 1.1%, with BP down 1.6% and Shell down 0.9%, amid escalating conflict in the Middle East.

European stocks advanced on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 closing up 0.7% at 10,529.89, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a new all-time high. The FTSE 250 added 0.3% to 23,161.41, while the AIM All-Share fell 0.7% to 771.92. In New York, the Dow rose 0.9% to a record, the S&P 500 gained 0.2%, but the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.4%. Micron Technology soared 11% after its third-quarter results and guidance beat expectations, driven by AI demand for memory bandwidth. Bayer surged 19% after the US Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that had exposed the company to thousands of claims over its Roundup weedkiller, a decision JPMorgan analyst Richard Vosser said covers about 80% of filed glyphosate cases. In London, 3i Group jumped 11% on strong sales figures from its key investment Action, while Barratt Redrow climbed 4.6% after major shareholder Phoenix Asset Management Partners called for increased share buybacks. EasyJet rose 6.6% as it agreed to provide limited commercial information to potential suitor Castlelake, which had made a fourth bid proposal worth 650 pence per share. Oil prices remained subdued, with Brent crude trading at 74.42 dollars a barrel, well below recent highs, easing inflation concerns.

3i Group announced that its portfolio company Action achieved like-for-like sales growth of 3.3% year to date as of the end of week 25. Action is on track for a good quarter of profit growth and held a cash balance of 699 million euros as of 21 June 2026, following a 450 million euros dividend payment to shareholders in May. The group added that the rest of its Private Equity portfolio continues to show good momentum in line with expectations.