The FTSE 100 surged to a fresh high on Wednesday, spurred by strong trading updates and as insurer Beazley said it has accepted a possible £8 billion bid.

The FTSE 100 index closed up 87.75 points, 0.9%, at 10,402.34, a new record close. It had earlier set a new intra-day high of 10,481.54.

The FTSE 250 ended up 42.78 points, 0.2%, at 23,333.15, and the AIM All-Share closed down 3.98 points, 0.5%, at 814.35.

Entain led the blue-chip risers in London as its 50% owned BetMGM business in the US had a “record year” in 2025, helped by a fourth quarter revenue surge amid a “particularly strong December”.

BetMGM’s 2025 performance “exceeded expectations”. Net revenue jumped by a third to 2.80 billion dollars, helping the joint venture swing to a net income of 175 million dollars, from a loss of 291 million dollars in 2023.

Entain, which also owns Ladbrokes, soared 10% in response.

Analysts at Davy Research noted the market has clearly been “extremely concerned” about the potential impact of prediction markets on regulated online sports betting.

The broker felt the update should “reassure a very nervous market”.

DCC was also in demand, up 8%, after it said adjusted operating profit, on a continuing basis, grew strongly in the quarter to December, compared with the prior year.

Peel Hunt analyst Christopher Bamberry said: “With strong market positions, a solid balance sheet and cash generation, we believe DCC is well positioned to deliver its (financial 2030) Energy Ebita target of £830 million.”

Beazley rose 6.9% after it said it has agreed to a possible takeover offer from Zurich Insurance that values the UK company at around £8 billion.

The London-based insurer released a joint statement with its larger Swiss peer, which noted that the Beazley board is “minded to accept” Zurich’s offer were it to be made firm.

Zurich has offered Beazley shareholders 1,310p per share in cash before allowed dividends, which takes the total value per share up to 1,335p.

It is lower than a previous approach from Zurich, which Beazley had spurned back in June. That offer was the last of three made at the time, which valued Beazley at 1,315p per share, or £8.4 billion in total.

GSK was another stock in favour, up 6.9%, after its fourth quarter results beat forecast.

The London-based pharmaceuticals company reported pre-tax profit of £1.48 billion in the three months that ended December 31, up 15% from £1.29 billion a year prior and ahead of the company compiled-consensus of £1.37 billion.

Core operating profit rose 14% to £1.63 billion from £1.43 billion, with core earnings per share up 9.9% to 25.5p from 23.2p, both ahead of consensus of £1.53 billion and 23p, respectively.

Turnover increased 6.2% to £8.62 billion from £8.12 billion, ahead of the £8.5 billion market consensus.

But European peer Novo Nordisk slumped 17% as guidance fell short of hopes in another blow for the Danish drugs maker best known for its weight loss drugs.

In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt fell 0.7%.

Stocks in New York were mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7%, the S&P 500 index was 0.3% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.6%.

On Wall Street, Eli Lilly, which competes in the weight loss drug arena with Novo, leapt 9.8% after results beat expectations.

Citi analyst Geoffrey Meacham called it a “blowout quarter, with a stunning 2026 guide”.

But chip maker Advanced Micro Devices plunged 17% as higher operating expenditure offset solid results.

Goldman Sachs analyst James Schneider said: “We expect the stock to trade down following a strong revenue quarter and guidance driven by upside in the Datacenter segment, offset by significantly higher-than-expected OpEx guidance.”

The broker said it sees “limited near-term operating leverage given AMD’s significant software and systems investments tied to its AI infrastructure ramp.”

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.28%, trimmed from 4.29%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted 4.92%, unchanged from Tuesday.

Back in London, figures showed the UK’s service sector activity growth was slower than expected in January, although still well above December’s levels.

The S&P Global UK services purchasing managers’ business activity index climbed to 54 points in January from 51.4 in December, but lower than the first estimate of 54.3 points.

In the US, reports from S&P Global and the Institute for Supply Management showed the US services sector continued to expand, although pricing pressures remained elevated.

The expansion comes amid a “backdrop of stubborn price pressure amid a tepid labour market,” analysts at Wells Fargo said.

Meanwhile, the US private sector added fewer jobs than expected last month, according to numbers from payroll processor ADP on Wednesday, in a reading that will be under greater focus after a short government shutdown cancelled the publication of the official nonfarm payrolls data.

ADP said US private sector employment increased by 22,000 jobs in January, slowing from 37,000 in December. December’s reading was downwardly revised from 41,000.

The reading for January was shy of the FXStreet-cited forecast of 48,000.

The pound was quoted lower at 1.3656 dollars at the time of the London equities close on Wednesday, compared to 1.3695 dollars on Tuesday.

The euro stood lower at 1.1798 dollars, against 1.1818 dollars. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at 156.69 yen compared to 155.73 yen.

Back in London, housebuilder Berkeley jumped 5.5% as JPMorgan upgraded to “overweight” from “neutral”.

“In recent years, London’s housebuilding has collapsed amidst a ‘perfect storm’ of regulatory and affordability issues but we now see reason for trends to inflect with policy support on the horizon,” JPM said.

JPM highlighted a “highly attractive setup in the London rental market” and “a highly compelling capital allocation framework”.

Gold was quoted lower at 4,916.04 dollars an ounce on Wednesday, down against 4,971.16 dollars at the same time on Tuesday.

Brent oil was quoted at 67.41 dollars a barrel on Wednesday, up from 67.15 dollars late on Tuesday.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Entain, up 61.4p at 648p; DCC, up 370p at 5,010p; GSK, up 134.5p at 2,080p; Beazley, up 80p at 1,240p; and BT, up 11p at 205p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Antofagasta, down 241p at 3,627p; Rightmove, down 18.6p at 450.5p; Anglo American, down 140p at 3,560p; Barclays, down 18.3p at 483.2p; and Fresnillo, down 126p at 3,776p.

Thursday’s global economic calendar includes interest rate decisions in the UK and Europe, eurozone retail sales figures and a slew of construction PMIs.

Thursday’s UK corporate calendar has third-quarter results from telco BT, while industry peer Vodafone issues a trading statement. Miner Anglo American also updates on trading, while oil major Shell releases full-year results.

Contributed by Alliance News.