- FTSE 100 ends 18.54 points lower at 9,870.68
- BP announces $10bn Castrol disposal
- Gold hits new record (albeit briefly)
Merry Christmas everyone
That's a wrap. See you on the other side of the great unboxing, presumably a few quid lighter and the overdraft firmly used up.
Blue-chips ended the session down 18.54 points at 9,870.68 in a lacklustre and largely directionless half-day of trading.
Hopes of a festive milestone for UK equities dimmed, with the FTSE 100 stumbling just short of the 10,000 mark.
A Santa rally earlier in the month fizzled out, but it has still been a decent year by the index’s standards. Notably, it has outpaced the S&P 500 so far in 2025 (a rare role reversal) even as Wall Street continues to chalk up fresh highs.
With jitters over richly valued US stocks and lingering fears of an AI-fuelled bubble unlikely to disappear, investors appear to be rotating towards cheaper, steadier markets. That trend could keep the FTSE in favour into the new year.
10.25am: Slow session (quelle surprise)
Unsurprisingly, it's been a very slow session as we trundle towards the Christmas shutdown. The blue-chip index was down 13 at 9,876.59, with few stocks really featuring on Santa's naughty and nice lists.
Schroders, the investment firm, topped the risers, presumably the result of the modest December stock rally both here and in the US.
For Games Workshop, the junior traders still at their desks apparently decided to book in some end-of-year profits from an investment that is up 42% in 2025.
9.25am: Gold continues to push higher
Gold has pushed to fresh records above $4,500 an ounce (albeit briefly), extending a powerful rally driven by geopolitics and expectations of easier US monetary policy.
Rising tensions around Venezuela, including US action against oil shipments, have revived demand for safe havens, while markets are increasingly confident that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again next year. Lower borrowing costs tend to favour assets like gold that do not pay interest.
The move has not been confined to gold. Silver and platinum have also surged to all-time highs, underlining the breadth of the precious metals rally.
8.25am: Blue-chips make a lacklustre start
The FTSE 100 made a faltering start to a foreshortened festive session, opening down 5 points at 9,884.5. The day's big corporate news was BP's sale of a 65% stake in Castrol for $10 billion, a deal that will help the faltering oil major pay down a chunk of debt. Is this a prelude to more decisive moves by BP under new CEO Meg O'Neill, who takes on the role in April? Only time will tell.
Pre-market: Blue-chips set to open in red
The FTSE 100 is expected to open about 11 points lower at 9,879, according to spread betting firms, setting a cautious tone at the start of the week.
That hesitancy followed mixed trading across Asia, where markets headed into the Christmas break on Wednesday without clear direction. Investors struggled to take their lead from Wall Street, despite a record-setting session in New York the previous day. Stronger-than-expected US economic data had helped lift American shares, but the optimism failed to carry cleanly into Asian hours.
Regional markets initially rose before losing momentum later in the session, leaving most indices little changed by the close. One notable mover was gold, which climbed above $4,500 for the first time as investors sought protection amid mounting US military and economic pressure on Venezuela.
In the US, traders drove equities higher, with the S&P 500 reaching a fresh all-time high, underlining the contrast between upbeat sentiment in New York and more cautious trading elsewhere.