London, Feb 2, 2026, 08:48 GMT — Regular session
Unilever shares jumped 2.25% to 5,051.5 pence in early London trade on Monday, bucking the weaker broader market. The stock hit a session peak of 5,055 pence.
Investors’ jitters over risk assets showed up early, with the FTSE 100 slipping 0.4% by 0820 GMT. Mining and defence stocks took a steep hit, pulling the index down.
Unilever tends to act as a safe haven when markets wobble: reliable cash flow, everyday essentials, and less volatility. With the company’s upcoming earnings report looming, traders are running low on patience after a rocky start to February.
The broader picture remains tangled. Asian stocks slipped, silver’s steep selloff stretched further, and oil dropped over 4% after U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran was “seriously talking” with Washington, easing strike fears. A full slate of earnings reports and central bank meetings looms over the markets. Ray Attrill, head of FX strategy at NAB, pointed to Trump’s pick of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair as a catalyst for the dollar’s surge, adding to the cross-asset volatility. Reuters
“Risk aversion is gripping financial markets this morning, with the sell-off in gold and silver intensifying,” Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said in a morning market note. Vox Markets
Unilever’s corporate drama isn’t going away. Former directors ousted from Ben & Jerry’s independent board are pushing back against Magnum’s attempts to reshape that board, according to a recent court filing. This adds another chapter to the ongoing battle over the ice cream brand’s independence. Unilever still holds a 19.9% stake in Magnum, which was created when Unilever spun off its ice cream division last December.
Investors now face a clear challenge: weighing pricing against volumes and seeing if cost pressures are easing quickly enough to shield margins. If there’s any sign shoppers are cutting back more sharply, sentiment could take a hit, despite the stock’s defensive tone today.
The so-called “safe” trade can quickly reverse. Should the commodity sell-off ease and risk appetite pick up, funds tend to flow out of consumer staples, leaving Unilever trailing the market. A weak volume forecast or fresh tensions over the ice cream spin-off could also weigh heavily on the stock.
Unilever’s Q4 and full-year 2025 earnings drop on Feb. 12, with a CAGNY conference presentation to follow on Feb. 17. These two dates will probably steer ULVR’s course this month.
