Ftse 100 bosses get 18% pay boost as stock market slips back in the red

Patrick O'Donnell
Mon, 20 Apr 2026 14:25:09 +0000

The bosses of Ftse 100 companies have received an up to 18 per cent pay boost despite the stock market slipping back into the red.

As of this afternoon, the London's benchmark stock market index fell 0.45 per cent, nearly 50 points, amid the ongoing US-Iran war.

Oil prices have jumped today as spooked investors reacted to ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, the trade route that transports 20 per cent of the world's oil supply.

Since the onset of the war, losses on the Ftse 100 have eased from dramatic drops on the index, but lingering uncertainty remains an issue for investors.

Ftse 100 firms have bolstered the pay of chief executives by nearly a fifth and lessened the importance of environment, social, and governance targets over the past 12 months.

This has been primarily due to a worldwide talent war that has resulted in US executives being rewarded with significant hikes to pay packages, The Financial Times reports.

Analysis from Deloitte of the UK's 55 largest listed companies found that salaries for Ftse 100 firm bosses have risen by 64 per cent in the last three years alone.

The Big Four firm's research found that the average chief executive package rose from £3.95million in 2021 to 5.89million as of today.

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On today's stock market performance, Fidelity International's investment director Tom Stevenson said: "Just when you think it is safe to go back in the water, the alarm is sounded again.

"Investors are trying hard to look through conflict in the Gulf to another buoyant earnings season. But no sooner have they dived back in than another red flag is raised and they are swimming back to the beach.

“Last week ended on a high that few investors could have expected. Six weeks after the start of hostilities in the Middle East, equity markets completed a dramatic round trip that saw a month-long 10 per cent correction erased in just a couple of weeks as share prices returned to new highs.

“The S&P 500 jumped on Friday by 1.2 per cent to 7,126 as it looked likely that a re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz could pave the way to a more durable peace deal between the US and Iran.

"Oil fell, shares rose, the dollar weakened. All the usual risk-on signals. The S&P index’s previous peak was just under 7,000 in January.

"Subsequent events over the weekend, however, are already suggesting that the V-shaped rally could have been a case of too much too quickly.

"Wishing for a return to the previous status quo is not the same thing as actually achieving it. Finding a solution for both parties will be a tough diplomatic test, and another tense week beckons.

"The good news about the market rally in April is that it has been pretty broad based. The number of stocks trading above their medium- and long-term moving averages is well above 50 per cent. The equal weighted S&P 500 index is back close to its pre-war high."