London, Jan 10, 2026, 09:25 GMT — Market closed
London Stock Exchange Group LSEG.L shares ended Friday up 1.1% at 8,952 pence, snapping back after a midweek dip as the exchange and data group kept buying in stock.
The move matters now because LSEG is in the middle of a large buyback, which can put a steady bid under the shares by shrinking the share count over time. It also lands ahead of a run of macro tests that can jolt volumes and risk appetite — the stuff exchanges live off.
LSEG said on Friday it bought 112,659 shares a day earlier at an average 8,876.35 pence, with the stock due to be cancelled. A day before that, it reported another 117,644 shares bought at an average 8,941.89 pence.
UK equities finished the week with a tailwind. The FTSE 100 closed at a record high on Friday after U.S. jobs data kept talk of Federal Reserve rate cuts in play; traders were pricing about 54 basis points of easing in 2026, LSEG-compiled data showed. (A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.
Technically, LSEG is still trying to steady itself. The shares sit in a 52-week range of 8,096 to 12,185 pence, and Friday’s trading range stayed tight, between roughly 8,776 and 8,964 pence.
The current programme runs for up to 1 billion pounds and is scheduled to end no later than Feb. 25, a filing of the buyback terms showed. That puts extra focus on how much firepower is left, and whether management keeps the pace up into results.
But buybacks do not fix the bigger question for investors: where earnings growth comes from if markets cool and trading activity fades after a strong start to the year. A sharper shift in rate expectations, or a broader risk-off move, can hit volumes and dent fee income across exchange operators.
Next up, traders are watching U.S. inflation data due on Tuesday, which could reset rate-cut bets, and LSEG’s preliminary results on Feb. 26.
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