UK shares concluded the trading session on Thursday with gains, following a shift in U.S. President Donald Trump’s position regarding Greenland, coupled with increasing optimism regarding a possible peace agreement in Ukraine, which bolstered market sentiment. The domestically-focused midcap index was up 1.3%, rebounding to a four-year high after earlier geopolitical concerns had exerted pressure on the index this week. UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 closed up 0.1%.

Media stocks rose 1.9%, bolstered by a 5.8% increase in Future after the publishing firm announced its acquisition of Sheerluxe. Shares of Ukraine-exposed companies experienced a notable increase, with airline Wizz Air climbing 9% and miner Ferrexpo rising 13.3% following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s announcement of the first trilateral meeting between Ukrainian and Russian teams and U.S. officials. The earnings season persisted in gaining traction. Shares of Computacenter experienced a 10% increase following the company’s optimistic profit forecast.
Senior climbed 8.7% after the engineering firm raised its annual profit forecast for the second time in two months, while AJ Bell rose 3.7% after the investment platform reported a 27.7% rise in first-quarter gross inflows for its platform business.

Heavyweight energy shares were down as crude oil prices fell. Shares of precious metal miners also offered support to the UK indexes as gold prices climbed on safe-haven demand. Diplomats indicated that EU leaders will reassess their relationship with the U.S. during an emergency summit on Thursday, following Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs and potential military action regarding Greenland, which have significantly undermined confidence in the transatlantic alliance and unsettled global markets this week.

On Wednesday, Trump retracted his plans to impose tariffs on U.S.-bound exports from eight European nations and dismissed the idea of using military force to acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, leading to a rally in global markets. Meanwhile, domestic data indicated that Britain’s government borrowed less than anticipated in December, a development that could provide Finance Minister Rachel Reeves with grounds for optimism in 2026.