The FTSE 100 index held steady and reached a new all-time high as the Bank of England (BoE) slashed interest rates and as more constituent companies published their earnings. It was trading at £8,765 on Friday, down from the year-to-date high of £8,815, 

Some top Footsie companies like Barclays and NatWest published their financial results this week. These firms released strong financial results, with the Barclays and NatWest share price soared to the highest point since 2007. So, let’s explore some of the top FTSE 100 shares to watch next week.

BAE Systems (BA)

BAE Systems, the biggest defense contractor in the UK, will be in the spotlight next week as it publishes its financial results on Thursday. 

Its stock has retreated in the past few months, making a series of lower lows and lower highs. It has dropped by almost 12% from its highest point in November. 

The company will likely benefit as investors anticipate more defense spending from the biggest countries. Donald Trump is pushing countries in the developed world to boost their defense budget, a move that would benefit defense companies like BAE Systems. 

Defense contractors, however, are facing some challenges, especially the recently announced tariffs on steel and aluminum. 

Lloyds Bank (LLOY)

Lloyds Bank will be the other top FTSE 100 company to watch as it publishes its financial results on Thursday. 

There are signs that the firm’s results will be strong after the strong numbers from NatWest and Barclays. 

The main challenge is that the company’s insurance division could attract a charge. This comes from an appeal judgment ruling that said that motor finance brokers should fully inform customers about their commissions. Some analysts believe that the insurance ruling may lead to higher costs and provisions.

The numbers come as the Lloyds share price is it sits to its highest level since 2007, before the Global Financial Crisis.

HSBC (HSBA)

The HSBC share price has surged in the last few years. It has risen in the last six consecutive months and is sitting at its all-time high. This surge has brought its market cap to over $196 billion.

HSBC stock has jumped as the new CEO has embarked on cost cuts and boost efficiency across all its segment. The most recent results showed that HSBC’s profit rose to over $8.5 billion as its revenue jumped to $8.7 billion.

Glencore (GLEN) and Rio Tinto (RIO)

Glencore share price will be in the spotlight next week as it releases its financial results. It has crashed to its lowest level since July 2022. GLEN has crashed by over 30% from its highest point in 2024. Rio Tinto stock has also plunged by over 11% from the highest level last year. 

The two mining giants will be in the spotlight next week when they publish their financial results for the year.

The main catalyst will be their statement on the rumoured merger between Glencore and Rio Tinto. That merger would create one of the biggest companies in the mining industry. 

Other FTSE 100 shares to watch

There will be other top companies to watch in the FTSE 100 next week. The most notable firms to focus on will be Standard Chartered, Mondi, Centrica, Antofagasta, InterContinental Hotel Group, and AstraZeneca.

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Digital coins display resilience after the latest United States inflation report, which triggered fear in the financial sector.

However, the case differed for AI agent coins, which have suffered significant bearishness in the past month.

Crypto AI agent’s market cap has plunged from $20 billion to $7 billion at press time, signaling a massive retreat within a month.

The downside continued within the past day as the sector lost over 5% in value.

Furthermore, the category is witnessing reduced participation as hype fades.

With Binance’s former CEO Changpeng Zhao shifting the narrative to animal-themed tokens, the AI agent’s market appears poised for more pain.

CZ’s pet dog ignites meme crypto craze

Changpeng Zhao revealed that he owns a dog on Wednesday.

The revelation generated a buzz as enthusiasts demanded the pet’s name.

After evaluating the comments, CZ confirmed that he would post the dog’s photo on Thursday.

Meanwhile, players capitalized on the three-hour timeframe to guess the name and launch several “CZ dog” coins, including PERRY, BROWNIE, and CLEO.

The new altcoin hit million-dollar market capitalizations, highlighting substantial demand.

However, the tokens tumbled when CZ revealed Broccoli as the actual name of his pet.

CZ BNB

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Broccoli’s Story

A year and a half ago, I casually chatted with a friend who owned a (real) zoo in Dubai. Curious, I asked what dog breed is adapted to the Dubai summer heat. I had no plans to get a dog.

Later that evening, my doorbell rang, and a young Belgian Malinois showed…

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The official confirmation triggered a new wave of Broccoli-related meme cryptos deployed through BNB Chain’s Four.meme platform.

However, the market remains flooded with Broccoli tokens as the hype spread beyond BNB Chain to other blockchains, including Solana.

Changpeng Zhao distanced himself from launching a meme token, stating,

I am just posting my dog’s picture and name. I am not issuing a meme coin myself. It’s up to the community to do that (or not). I will likely interact with a few of the more popular meme coins on BNB Chain.

AI agents market overview

AI agent tokens have seemingly lost the momentum they had early in 2025.

Their market cap has plummeted by over 65% within the past month.

That came as top-trending AI agent tokens suffered significantly within the past sessions.

For instance, AI16Z, VIRTUAL, and FET lost 68%, 60%, and 40% on their 30-day charts.

The underperformance continued over the past day with significant losses.

Engagements from KOLs (key opinion leaders) and astute trader accounts reveal a concerning decline.

That confirms dwindling interest in AI-tied crypto projects.

Enthusiasts should track these engagements to determine the sector’s trajectory.

However, AI agents remain crucial for the crypto landscape, considering their unique use cases.

Moreover, their prevailing struggle mirrors broad market uncertainty over the past month.

Amplified interest in crypto x AI narratives might trigger significant recovers for AI-driven cryptocurrencies.

Meanwhile, it remains interesting to witness the unfolding developments. Will animal-inspired meme tokens dominate this cycle’s bull run?

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India’s stock market has suffered its steepest decline in over a year, with total market capitalisation slipping below $4 trillion for the first time since December 2023.

A combination of a weakening rupee, foreign capital flight, and stretched valuations has triggered a selloff that wiped out over $1 trillion in equity value.

The country’s benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, have declined 2.6 percent so far this year, while broader indices have faced an even sharper downturn.

The BSE MidCap index has tumbled more than 12 percent, and the SmallCap index has lost over 15 percent, signalling deeper concerns about market breadth.

Foreign institutional investors have pulled more than $10 billion from Indian equities in 2025, raising fears about the sustainability of India’s bull run.

India lags behind global markets

India’s 18.33 percent decline in total market capitalisation is the sharpest among global markets in 2025.

Zimbabwe follows closely with an 18.3 percent drop, while Iceland ranks third with an 18 percent decline, according to Bloomberg data.

Major global indices have largely outperformed India. The US, which remains the world’s largest stock market, has recorded a 3 percent increase in market capitalisation this year.

China and Japan have posted gains of 2.2 percent each, while markets in Hong Kong, Canada, the UK, and France have registered increases of 1.2 percent, 7.2 percent, 7.1 percent, and 9.9 percent, respectively.

India’s market struggles come amid concerns over economic growth, earnings uncertainty, and a volatile political landscape.

The Indian rupee has weakened by nearly 1.5 percent against the US dollar this year, making it the second-worst-performing currency in Asia after the Indonesian rupiah.

This depreciation has made Indian assets less attractive to foreign investors, further exacerbating the selloff.

Mid and small caps hit hardest

While India’s stock market had previously been a magnet for investors seeking high-growth opportunities, concerns over stretched valuations are now weighing on sentiment.

At the IFA Galaxy conference, ICICI Pru AMC’s CIO, S Naren, warned against systematic investment plans (SIPs) in mid- and small-cap funds, citing high valuations and market volatility.

His comments sparked a broader discussion among market participants about whether India’s equity market remains an attractive bet for long-term investors.

Notably, renowned valuation expert Aswath Damodaran has also raised concerns about India’s expensive market.

Despite India’s strong GDP growth, he has pointed out that its equities remain among the most overvalued globally.

Meanwhile, China’s Shanghai Composite has outperformed the Sensex, further fuelling debate about whether India’s premium valuations are justified.

Global risks pressure equities

Beyond domestic factors, global economic uncertainties are also contributing to India’s market downturn.

The possibility of a tariff war under a second Trump administration has created additional nervousness among investors.

With India being a major exporter of services and goods to the US, any shift in trade policy could have a significant impact on corporate earnings.

Bloomberg’s methodology for calculating market capitalisation excludes ETFs and ADRs, focusing only on actively traded primary securities on exchanges.

This approach aims to prevent double counting, though it results in lower aggregate values compared to other sources.

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India’s growing role in the global space economy took centre stage as Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in Washington.

While much of the media attention focused on a symbolic exchange—a heatshield tile from SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft—the meeting underscored deeper strategic interests.

The discussions revolved around artificial intelligence, sustainable development, and space collaboration, but a critical undercurrent was India’s ongoing regulatory debate over satellite internet.

As Starlink awaits licensing in India, the meeting signals the country’s push to position itself as a key player in space-based communications and emerging technologies.

Earlier in the day, the prime minister also met with President Trump.

India’s Starlink regulatory hurdle

India’s space programme has rapidly gained momentum, cementing its position as a formidable force in the global space industry.

Modi’s meeting with Musk came at a time when India is refining its regulatory framework for satellite broadband services—a sector where SpaceX’s Starlink is a major contender.

Starlink’s application to operate in India has been under scrutiny due to spectrum allocation disputes, particularly with Reliance Jio, a dominant player in the Indian telecom sector.

The Indian government has yet to finalise spectrum policies for satellite-based broadband, which could significantly impact how Starlink and other satellite internet providers enter the market.

The regulatory uncertainty has created a bottleneck for SpaceX, which had earlier faced pushback when it began pre-selling Starlink connections in India without government approval.

Strengthening US-India ties in tech

Beyond satellite internet, Modi and Musk’s discussions highlighted India’s broader efforts to collaborate with the US in AI development, space exploration, and sustainable technologies.

India’s recent signing of the Artemis Accords, a US-led initiative outlining global norms for space exploration, signals a shift towards deeper cooperation between the two countries.

SpaceX’s interest in India goes beyond Starlink, with potential future collaborations in rocket launches and reusable launch vehicle technology. AI was another key focus, as India works to integrate AI-driven solutions in governance and industry.

Musk’s Tesla is also closely monitoring India’s electric vehicle (EV) policy landscape, as the company eyes potential manufacturing opportunities in the country.

India’s push for AI leadership aligns with Musk’s own ambitions in the sector, with his AI firm xAI looking to challenge OpenAI.

As AI regulation becomes a global talking point, India’s policies on responsible AI deployment are increasingly relevant to US firms exploring partnerships in the region.

India’s push for global tech leadership

While Musk’s gift of a Starship heatshield tile to Modi grabbed headlines, the broader takeaway from the meeting is India’s positioning as a major stakeholder in the future of space-based communications and AI.

The country is navigating complex policy decisions that will shape its role in global satellite broadband and deep-tech innovation.

The meeting reflects India’s balancing act between fostering private-sector innovation and maintaining regulatory control over critical technologies.

As India refines its space and AI policies, partnerships with global tech giants like SpaceX and Tesla will be instrumental in shaping its future in these domains.

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Hong Kong-listed Chinese stocks extended their recent rally on Friday, fueled by growing optimism surrounding the nation’s advancements in artificial intelligence and renewed confidence in the market’s overall prospects.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index jumped as much as 3.1% on Friday, inching closer to surpassing an October peak following a recent stimulus push.

Breaching that level would mark the gauge’s highest point since February 2022.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Xiaomi Corp, and Tencent Holdings Ltd. were among the top contributors to the advance.

The CSI 300 Index, an onshore benchmark, also climbed 0.9%.

China’s ‘Sputnik moment’: AI capabilities spark re-evaluation

After lagging behind in the global AI race for several years, China is rapidly catching up.

The demonstrated prowess of AI startup DeepSeek has served as a “wake-up call” for investors who had previously underestimated the nation’s growth potential in the technology sector.

This has led to a broader reassessment of the previously beaten-down Chinese equity market.

According to Marvin Chen, a Bloomberg Intelligence strategist, The DeepSeek revelation “is a reflection that China is making progress on its new productive forces and self sufficiency goals. The tech momentum may carry the market into March,” when attention turns to the Two Sessions meeting and corporate earnings as the next driver, he added.

Signs of government support: a boost for private enterprise

Alibaba shares saw further gains following a report by Reuters that President Xi Jinping is planning to chair a conference next week with business figures, including Alibaba’s co-founder Jack Ma.

This event is interpreted as a strong signal of renewed government support for the private sector, boosting investor sentiment.

Adding to the wave of optimism are signs that Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese products — 10% in the initial offensive — may turn out to be less drastic than feared, further calming market anxieties.

A more durable rally? Sentiment shifts among global investors

While global money managers have been burnt by the Chinese market’s ups and downs over the past few years, some now see the odds of a more durable rally this time around.

Deutsche Bank called the ongoing tech progress a “Sputnik moment” for the country, while a trader note by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said hedge funds are purchasing Chinese shares in large chunks, driven almost entirely by long buys.

Despite the enthusiasm, some remain skeptical, cautioning that the AI buzz may have fueled an overextended rally, with stocks seemingly responding indiscriminately to any announcement of cooperation with DeepSeek.

“At the end of the day, you don’t really know what the potential monetization opportunities are over the medium to longer term,” Helen Zhu, chief investment officer for NF Trinity, said in a Bloomberg TV interview.

There’s “potential uncertainty on whether what DeepSeek has been able to do can be repeated,” she added.

Looking ahead: stimulus expectations and economic challenges

Bulls are hoping Beijing will unleash further stimulus at the Two Sessions — the annual meetings of China’s top legislative and advisory bodies — helping to sustain the market’s upward trend.

Added policy support is crucial with the property sector still struggling and the economy remaining lackluster.

The Hang Sang China Enterprises Index has gained 13% so far in 2025, among the best performances in Asia.

It is about 1% away from taking out the October peak.

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