London, Feb 7, 2026, 09:27 (GMT) — The market has closed.
Prudential plc (PRU.L) notched a 0.5% gain Friday, ending the session around 1,182 pence and clawing back a slice of Thursday’s decline. The insurer kept up its buyback activity in the market. Now, as the London market goes quiet for the weekend, traders look ahead to Monday, with rates and repurchase plans still dominating watch lists. 1
Interest rates are back at the center, shifting gears after the Bank of England’s recent signals and fresh survey data. On Friday, a BoE market participants survey pointed to policy rates dropping to 3.0% by March 2027—down from the current 3.75%. Markets have now priced in two more quarter-point cuts for 2026. 2
Prudential repurchased 494,445 ordinary shares on Feb. 5, with prices ranging from 11.685 to 12.135 pounds apiece—an average price landing at 11.8709 pounds, a filing showed. The insurer plans to cancel these shares, which would trim the outstanding total to roughly 2.54 billion. 3
The buybacks are part of a broader initiative running through 2026. Back in January, Prudential kicked off a $1.2 billion share repurchase, targeting completion by Dec. 18, 2026. “I am pleased with the progress we are making in executing our strategy,” Chief Executive Anil Wadhwani said at launch. 4
Friday brought a rebound after Thursday’s bruising drop, with the stock sliding 3.29% to 11.76 pounds—worse than the broader FTSE 100, MarketWatch data show. Just the day before, Prudential had notched a 52-week peak at 12.38 pounds. Volume on Thursday? Well above its recent average. 5
Rate bets are still shifting. On Friday, Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill cautioned that policymakers shouldn’t be swayed by an anticipated slide in inflation caused by short-lived effects, pointing out the danger that core price pressures might not ease as quickly as hoped. 6
London’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.6% by Friday’s close, with big banks leading the charge and pushing the benchmark to a second consecutive weekly rise. 7
Still, Prudential’s tilt toward Asia keeps the spotlight not only on UK rates but also on regulatory shifts and margins in its growth markets. In India, a wave of South Korean insurers is eyeing an entry as reforms loom—changes that could empower the regulator to cap commissions and demand disgorgement. That’s a hot-button topic for life insurers, especially those dependent on agency-driven sales. Prudential, already on the ground via joint ventures with the likes of Sun Life and AIG, is watching closely. 8
PRU’s risk is straightforward: stubborn inflation could force the BoE to tap the brakes on rate cuts, triggering another shift in market expectations. Governor Andrew Bailey, following the BoE’s narrow decision to keep rates steady, remarked that “the risks from inflation persistence appear to have continued to reduce,” though he emphasized he wasn’t promising a cut at any particular meeting. 9
Prudential’s next major event comes March 18, when it’s set to report 2025 full-year results at 06:00 HKT—22:00 in the UK a day earlier—per its financial calendar. Traders, for now, are watching for any updates on buyback activity and fluctuations in UK rate projections. 10
