- FTSE 100 down 74 points at 10,048.21
- Wall Street set for subdued start
- Construction sector contracts in December
- Miners and oilers marked down
4.39pm: That's a wrap
The blue-chip index endured a mild bout of vertigo after hitting a record high on Tuesday, ending the session down 74.52 points at 10,048.21.
The retreat was led by energy stocks, which dropped sharply after Donald Trump agreed to import up to $2 billion of Venezuelan crude. The prospect of extra supply pushed oil prices lower.
BP fell 3.2% and Shell 2.6%, and, given their oversized index weighting, put the kibosh on any forward momentum.
Copper and precious metals also weakened, bringing down Antofagasta and Fresnillo.
3.30pm: Profit-takers winning
The FTSE 100 lost momentum on Wednesday, falling 0.7% as investors locked in profits after a string of record highs and grew more cautious over developments involving the US and Venezuela.
The retreat was led by energy stocks, which dropped sharply after Donald Trump agreed to import up to $2 billion of Venezuelan crude. The prospect of extra supply pushed oil prices lower, knocking BP down 2.9% and Shell 2.2%. Precious metals also weakened, dragging miners lower as gold prices slipped more than 1%.
Away from commodities, the mood was more mixed. A Deloitte survey of large company finance directors showed improved confidence late last year, helped by easing post-Budget uncertainty. However, that optimism contrasts with persistently weak sentiment among small firms, highlighting a widening gap between large corporates and smaller businesses as costs rise.
Despite Wednesday’s pullback, UK equities remain near record territory. The FTSE 100 only crossed the 10,000 mark for the first time last week, buoyed by hopes that interest rate cuts could arrive later this year.
Individual stocks offered some cheer. Topps Tiles rose after reporting solid quarterly sales growth, while Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust advanced following pressure from its biggest shareholder for board changes.
12.50: Wall Street headed for down day
US stock futures edged lower on Wednesday, signalling a pause after Wall Street’s push to fresh highs as investors digested a surprise supply move in oil and turned their attention to key labour market data.
Contracts tied to the Nasdaq 100 fell modestly, while S&P 500 futures slipped from a record close.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were broadly steady after the index crossed 49,000 for the first time.
The immediate catalyst was energy. Crude prices extended their early-year slide after Donald Trump said Venezuela would release up to 50 million barrels of oil for sale to the US.
The prospect of extra supply pushed US crude below $57 a barrel, with Brent drifting towards $60, reinforcing pressure on energy-linked stocks.
Beyond oil, markets are bracing for a busy run of economic releases.
Wednesday brings the ADP report on private-sector hiring and November’s JOLTS data on job openings and quits, both seen as important signposts ahead of Friday’s official payrolls report.
Traders will be looking for confirmation that the labour market is cooling just enough to open the door to policy shifts later in the year
Midday: Pulback continues
The FTSE 100 retreated further for its record close with the pullback was driven largely by heavy losses in commodity stocks as oil and precious metals prices fell.
Oil majors Shell and BP dropped more than 2% after Donald Trump said Venezuela would send up to 50 million barrels of oil to the market. With crude already down about 18% this year, the prospect of extra supply pushed prices another 1% lower, dragging the sector with it.
Miners also softened as gold and silver retreated, trimming recent gains. Elsewhere, stock-specific moves stood out, with NatWest weaker after a downgrade, while Vodafone gained ground following a more upbeat broker call.
9.57am: UK construction still contracting, but the mood is lifting
The UK construction sector ended 2025 on a weak footing, but the latest survey data suggest the pace of decline is easing and confidence is beginning to stabilise.
According to the latest Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index from S&P Global, activity remained firmly in contraction in December, with the headline PMI rising to 40.1 from 39.4 in November. That is still well below the 50 level that signals growth and marks the twelfth consecutive month of contraction, but it does represent a modest improvement on November’s five-and-a-half-year low.
The weakness was broad-based. Civil engineering was again the poorest-performing segment, while housing and commercial construction saw their sharpest declines since the early months of the pandemic. Firms continue to point to fragile client confidence and subdued demand, with delayed investment decisions (some linked to uncertainty around last autumn’s Budget) weighing on order books.
New work volumes fell again, extending a run of monthly declines throughout 2025. However, the pace of contraction slowed compared with November, offering a tentative sign that conditions may be bottoming out.
More encouragingly, sentiment improved. Business expectations rose to a five-month high, with more than a third of firms anticipating higher output over the year ahead. Optimism is being supported by expectations of increased infrastructure spending, particularly in utilities, alongside hopes that lower interest rates and easing inflation will gradually feed through into demand during 2026.
There were also signs of easing pressure on costs. Lower activity reduced input buying, supplier delivery times improved for a fifth straight month and construction cost inflation slowed to its weakest pace since late 2024.
For markets, the message is mixed but marginally better. Construction remains a drag on UK growth, but the survey hints that the worst of the downturn may be passing, with stabilising confidence and softer inflation offering some grounds for cautious optimism.
8.30am: Traders take stock
The FTSE 100 paused for breath after setting a new record on Tuesday, factoring in a stuttering performance across Asia's main markets.
The day's major casualties, if you can call them that, were those that prospered earlier in the week: The miners, both in the commodity and precious metals sectors, and the oilers. There was added pressure on BP and Shell with crude prices tracking lower.
There was a sliver of good news for the builders with Rightmove reporting a record number of house searches on its site on Boxing Day, suggesting a potential upswell in moving activity.
Looking ahead, we are expecting Construction PMI data in an hour.
Ahead of the open
The FTSE 100 is set to open around 28 points lower this morning, giving back some ground after pushing to a fresh record on Tuesday. The mood looks more cautious, with a touch of vertigo creeping in as global markets pause to take stock.
Asian shares were mixed overnight, with the early-year momentum from Wall Street easing as investors weighed interest rate expectations and rising geopolitical uncertainty.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1% , while South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.6% to 4,551.06. Both markets had hit record levels a day earlier. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2% to 8,695.60. China was subdued, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 1.1% and the Shanghai Composite little changed.
The backdrop remains unsettled. Markets are digesting the impact of a US raid that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, alongside renewed rhetoric from Donald Trump on foreign policy.
Wall Street, however, continues to set the pace. US stocks climbed again on Tuesday, led by technology names. The Dow was up 1%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.6%. The tech-focused Nasdaq added 0.6%.
Attention is also turning back to monetary policy. The Federal Reserve meets later this month, with rates widely expected to be left unchanged after three cuts late last year. US Treasury yields nudged higher, with the ten-year at 4.16% and the two-year at 3.46%.
In commodities, oil prices slipped, gold eased 0.3% and silver fell 1.5%. In currencies, the dollar softened against the yen, while the euro ticked higher against the US currency.