RELX (LSE:REL) gained 2.64% on Friday, a notable move on a day when technology shares were being sold heavily on the other side of the Atlantic. There was no company-specific announcement identified for the session. The rise instead reflected a rebound across information-services stocks, a group that is usually seen as exposed to disruption from artificial intelligence but that gained on the day despite the Wall Street tech sell-off. RELX moved alongside Experian (LSE:EXPN), which rose in the same session.

RELX is a global provider of information and analytics. Its businesses Supply data, tools and decision-support products to professional customers in areas such as science and medicine, law, risk assessment and exhibitions. That mix of subscription-style information services is exactly why the shares tend to be treated as a barometer for AI worries: investors regularly debate whether new software could erode the value of curated data and professional content. On Friday, that debate paused, at least for a day, and buyers returned to the sector.

The timing made the rebound more striking. Weak results from Intel and Amazon, released after Thursday's close, revived doubts that heavy spending on artificial intelligence will pay off. Intel fell roughly 30% in New York, Alphabet had dropped 12% on Thursday, and the Nasdaq Composite was down about 2.7% by the London close. On Wall Street the S&P 500 finished down 1.82% at 7,580.07, its worst day since June. Technology-exposed names in London followed the Nasdaq lower, including Computacenter (LSE:CCC), Polar Capital Technology (LSE:PCT) and Scottish Mortgage (LSE:SMT).

Information-services companies sit in an awkward spot in that narrative. When AI optimism is high, investors worry that the technology will replace what they sell. When AI spending is questioned, that fear can ease, and holders of the stocks may feel more comfortable buying back in. No single reason has been stated for the move in RELX, so the most honest description is that sentiment towards the sector improved while the broader technology trade weakened. Nothing more precise than that can be said from the evidence gathered.

The wider London market was mixed. The FTSE 100 closed up 7.71 points, or 0.07%, at 10,729.78, after drifting in and out of positive territory and ending well off its intraday highs. The index rose just over 1% in October, its first monthly gain in three months, and about 0.37% on the week. Large-cap defensives held the Blue-Chip index up while the US tech sell-off pushed it down. The FTSE 250 fell 0.9% to 24,453.36 and the AIM All-Share fell 1.4%.

Defensive sectors provided the support. AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN) jumped 7% on its third-quarter results, its best day in a year, and consumer staples gained broadly, with Diageo (LSE:DGE), Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (LSE:CCEP), Unilever (LSE:ULVR), British American Tobacco (LSE:BATS), Reckitt (LSE:RKT), Sainsbury (LSE:SBRY) and Tesco (LSE:TSCO) all higher. BT (LSE:BT.A) rose 6.7% on a press report that Virgin Media O2 is nearing a deal to use Openreach. RELX's advance sat comfortably in that group of steady, cash-generative names rather than alongside the Growth Stocks that were being sold.

There were clear losers. NatWest (LSE:NWG) fell about 8.8% after disappointing net interest Margin guidance, which dragged on Lloyds (LSE:LLOY) and Barclays (LSE:BARC). Miners declined as gold dropped about 2.8% to roughly $3,898 an ounce and copper fell. Brent Crude rose to about $117.61 a barrel, and sterling briefly topped 1.20 euros for the first time since April 2025. UK house price data showed the slowest October growth since 2024.

For RELX (LSE:REL), then, the session was about positioning rather than news. The company did not report results or announce a deal on the day. What the day does show is a sector-wide bounce in information-services shares that coincided with a sharp fall in US technology stocks, leaving RELX among the better-performing large companies in London.