- FTSE 100 up 118 points at 10,341
- Index has set a new intraday high
- Gold, silver and copper meltdown hits miners
- Defensive stocks provide support
5.05pm: Record day
The FTSE 100 added 118 points to close out the day at a record high of 10,341.
Gold continued to retreat, down more than 1.2% at about $4,685 per ounce.
City Index market analyst Fawad Razaqzada noted that the gold forecast has shifted dramatically over the past few sessions. "From a macro perspective, several of the key drivers that pushed gold higher are now starting to fade,” he said. “One of the biggest bullish themes had been concerns about US monetary policy credibility, especially with political pressure on the Federal Reserve and persistent calls for rate cuts.”
4.07pm: FTSE flier is nothing special, say some
London blue-chips are maintaining their elevated altitude as the runway for the session comes into sight.
Retailers and travel stocks with exposure to the dollar are top of the leaderboard: JD Sports, InterContinental and IAG.
It has been a "solid day" for the index, says Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG, while Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill says it "posted modest gains".
"Solid" and "modest"? What's an index gotta do to get some recognition around here?
Beauchamp says gains are "respectable", with AstraZeneca playing its part in a steady move higher throughout the day as the pharma giant completes its move to the NYSE and from ADR's to direct listing.
This move, "many still think is a precursor to abandoning its London listing altogether".
The deeper losses seen in the miners and oil stocks have been "contained, not least because of the dip buying going on in gold and silver after the weekend plummet", he adds.
2.42pm: FTSE flying high
The FTSE 100 is on a real flyer again, on course for another hundred-point day.
JD Sports, IHG, AstraZeneca and IAG are top of the risers.
There are just a dozen fallers among the index constituents now, led by BAE Systems, BP and Shell.
Other defence contractors, precious metals and copper miners are also in red.
US stocks have opened in mixed fashion. The Dow Jones is up 0.35%, the S&P 500 is three points above flat and the Nasdaq composite is down 0.15%.
1.27pm: New FTSE record
London's blue-chip index has notched up another record intraday high, with memories of the metals meltdown quickly put to one side.
The FTSE hit a high of 10,298.52 a short while ago, a new record high.
Top of the risers is insurer Beazley, up 3.4%, followed by a phalanx of consumer-focused stocks, InterContinental Hotels, JD Sports, Howden Joinery, Coca-Cola HBC, IAG and Unilever.
Caterer Compass, another insurer Aviva, and drugmakers AstraZeneca and GSK are next.
The dollar has been strengthening, with the DXY index up 0.35%, while the pound is down around 0.1% at $1.3666.
1.02pm: Small-cap movers
Some smaller movers in London, starting with two hospitality chains with different perspectives.
Shares in XP Factory PLC sank 17% earlier but are now up iver 3% after the competitive entertainment chain issued a profit warning, blaming weaker trading at its Boom Battle Bar chain offsetting better times for its escape rooms and record overall sales over Christmas.
Chief executive Richard Harpham said: “While near-term trading within Boom has been impacted by market pressures, we remain well positioned to emerge as a long-term winner.”
Various Eateries PLC is up more than 11% after the restaurant and hotel group reported a swing to record earnings and a strong start to the 2026 financial year.
The company, which owns the Coppa Club, Noci, Tavolino and 31 Below brands, said revenue rose 6% to £52.4 million in the year to 28 September and was up 9% over the festive period.
The group said it would now focus growth on Coppa Club and Noci as its two core brands, with new sites and acquisition opportunities being "actively" sought.
Pathos Communications Plc rose 11.5% after the company said revenue, earnings and cash were all ahead of expectations in its first financial year as a listed group.
The performance was underpinned by improved client conversion, high collection rates and a growing focus on placements in premium media outlets.
Full-year revenue for 2025 is expected to come in at $13.2 million, up 16% on the previous year and 6% above forecasts, with adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rising more than 50% to $2.9 million.
Shares in Tooru PLC bounced 9% after the company said its gluten-free brand OAF will be stocked in ASDA stores from April 2026.
12.48pm: Taxi for CAB's former owner?
CAB Payments's board has rejected a proposed offer from a consortium led by its former private equity owner Helios Investment Partners.
Earlier today, Helios said it had sweetened its take-private proposal to $1.15 (84p) a share in cash, valuing the cross-border payments group at $292 million. It said this represented a 21% premium to CAB’s 30-day average share price.
The CAB board, which rejected a lower offer of $1.05 (77p) per share last week, has done so again, saying the increased proposal is “highly opportunistic” and fundamentally undervalues the business.
Shareholders were advised to take no action, with full-year results due on 5 March
It is notable that Helios claims backing or letters of support for over 50% of CAB’s shares, including a 45% holding by a Helios fund and a non-binding letter from Eurocomm Holding covering a further 5%.
12.04pm: European markets forge higher, US futures cut losses
Markets have quickly recovered their poise and bullishness.
The FTSE is now only a dozen or so points from its all-time high again, and losses for US futures have been trimmed.
Dow Jones futures are down just 0.05% now, having been pointing to much larger losses overnight.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures are down 0.5% and 0.8%, compared to falls of around 1.4% and 1.8% earlier. Nvidia shares are down 1.75% in premarket trading.
In Europe, the London and Paris benchmarks are up 0.4%, while indices of Frankfurt, Madrid and Milan are leading the way with gains of 0.6-0.7%.
The Euro Stoxx 600 is up 0.3%, with jeweller Pandora up 6.9% at the top of the leaderboard, likely reflecting the easing of precious metals prices. Next are utilities, software and insurers.
11.13am: Reading the mood
The manufacturing PMI data is an indicator of improving mood in the sector rather than hard data, says Matt Swannell, chief economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club, indicating that 2026 "will likely be another year of modest growth for the sector".
While the survey points to a third consecutive month of growing activity, with new orders continuing to rise despite elevated geopolitical uncertainty, Swannell says the PMI "should be taken with a heavy pinch of salt".
"In recent years, it's been a better barometer of manufacturers' mood rather than a true indicator of changing activity.
"With the recent heightened uncertainty around future international trading arrangements, the latest pick up could quickly change course.
"It’s likely that 2026 will be another subdued year for UK manufacturers as fiscal policy continues to tighten, households' real income growth is set to slow, and international trade policy uncertainty remains elevated.
"Even with business reported to be on the up, rising costs are still causing manufacturers to reduce headcount. Rising domestic cost pressures combined with the higher cost of some raw materials are still working their way through the production line too.
"In response, output price inflation picked up further in January."
With a BoE monetary policy committee decision on Thursday, Swannell says it is likely to see the base rate left unchanged, as members wait to see the extent to which pay growth and inflation are affected for the whole economy.
10.42am: FTSE in green
The FTSE 100 is in positive territory now.
Partly this reflects the falls easing for the mining giants (Endeavour and Feresnillo both down less than 5% now), but also gains elsewhere.
Holiday Inn owner IHG is top of the leaderboard, up 2.4%, followed by Marmite maker Unilever, up 2.2%, and insurers Beazley, Aviva and Admiral, all up 2% or more.
AstraZeneca is up 1.35% on the day when its shares begin trading directly on the NYSE later, with positive news on a cancer drug in the EU too.
Other 'defensives' are helping support the index too, including BAT, GSK, Haleon and Vodafone.
10.14am: Businesses are adapting
After the S&P Global manufacturing PMI rose to 51.8 in January from 50.6 in December, above the consensus, economist Elliott Jordan-Doak at Pantheon Macroeconomics says the improvement in the PMI’s sub-indices in January "provides us with further encouragement that the steady momentum seen in recent months can be maintained".
With the manufacturing future output balance leaping in January to 75.2, from 70.8 in December, and export orders improving too, Jordan-Doak says this suggests that "businesses are adapting to the chronic tariff-related uncertainty that dogged export orders over the past year".
Admittedly, he adds, "stronger demand is failing to translate into a sustained improvement in hiring", though the employment balance is now at its best level since October 2024 when Rachel Reeves first announced the payrolls tax hike.
9.43am: UK manufacturing survey signals growth for third month in a row
UK manufacturing sector activity has strengthened to a 17-month high, according to the S&P Global purchasing managers' index.
The UK manufacturing PMI for January has come in slightly stronger than expected at 51.8, up from the 51.6 'flash' reading mid-month and up from 50.6 in December.
The PMI has signalled growth for three consecutive months.
"UK manufacturing made a solid start to 2026, showing encouraging resilience in the face of rising geopolitical tensions," says Rob Dobson, director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
"Rates of output and order book growth accelerated, while new export business rose for the first time in four years, with Europe, China and the US the main recipients.
"There was also a positive bounceback in business confidence, which rose to its highest level since before the 2024 autumn budget, as manufacturers focussed on opportunities lying ahead despite persistent concerns about the geopolitical environment, Government policy and tariff tensions."
The strongest rise in new business for almost four years was not enough to fully quell reductions in staff numbers, but the rate of cutting slowed to its weakest since job losses started 15 months ago, he adds.
"Cost pressures are creeping higher though, as the pass through of the increased minimum wage and employer NI contributions continue to work through the supply chain alongside the rising costs for commodities such as metals."
8.48am: FTSE's defensive names provide support
While commodities groups lead the retreat, with banks and some defence contractors joining in, more than half of the Footsie shares are in positive territory this morning.
Among the bigger names, these include Unilever, up 2.3%, followed by British American Tobacco, AstraZeneca, National Grid and Compass and RELX, all up around 1%, while Rolls-Royce, Diageo and GSK are also risers.
The FTSE's losses have been cut to just below 25 points now at 10,199.
Here's Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, says these risers are mostly "more defensive stocks" and the selling in commodities names "could herald the beginning of a more guarded approach" after recent record-setting.
He says the reasons for the steep declines in gold, silver and others are "not immediately obvious," he says forced selling on major margin calls is likely to be a factor.
"The recovery of the US dollar will also have had an impact, given its inverse price relationship to gold, while there is also speculation of a heavy unwinding of long positions which has left traders rushing for the exit at the same time."
Investors will have much to digest this week, with the release of various economic datam, including the US non-farm payrolls on Friday, plus a Bank of England meeting the day before.
"The reporting season is now in full flight, and updates are expected across a range of sectors from the likes of Walt Disney, Pfizer and AbbVie. However, particular focus will fall on results from Alphabet, Amazon and Advanced Micro Devices, particularly given the rough treatment which was handed out to Microsoft last week," Hunter adds.
"This came amid heightening concerns over the hundreds of billions of dollars which are currently being pumped into AI development and the timeframe of any return on these investments."
8.15am: Miners lead retreat as FTSE opens lower
The FTSE 100 dropped 57 points in initial trading but has seen these losses quickly pared to below 40.
Leading the fallers are Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo, down 6.9% and 6.2% as precious metals retreat from the peaks seen only a week ago at a fast march.
Antofagasta shares are down 4.4% as copper also backs off recent highs, while more diversified mining and commodities group Glencore's down 3% and Anglo American is down 2.8%.
Oil and gas heavyweights BP and Shell have dropped 2.3% and 2.2%, meanwhile.
7.35am: Asian stocks plunge
Asian stocks are giving an indication of what's in store for European markets, with most major benchmarks firmly in the red.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 is down 1.25%, while the Hang Seng has plunged 2.7% in Hong Kong and the Shanghai Composite index has skidded 2.5% lower.
India's Sensex is a rare riser, up 0.5%.
As last week closed it saw the month end with "extraordinary volatility", says Deutsche Bank macro strategist Jim Reid, with silver experiencing its largest daily fall since 1980 (36% at the intraday lows, 26.3% at the close), while gold recorded its biggest one-day decline since 2013 (8.95%).
"The recent run up in precious metals feels to have an enormous speculative element. Friday’s moves, almost certainly driven by positioning and margin dynamics, only reinforced that impression," Reid adds.
A partial US government shutdown, while it is expected to be resolved soon, is "typical of the 2026 constant stream of complicated news flow", with January managing "to both shock and awe in various ways, yet still delivered broad based gains across all global assets in our monthly performance review when measured in USD terms—a genuinely rare occurrence".
The clear catalyst for Friday’s sell-off appeared to be news that Kevin Warsh had secured the nomination for Fed chair, Reid says.
"Warsh is known to be more hawkish on the balance sheet than other candidates, pushing back against the prevailing debasement narrative that has supported precious metals.
"That said, price action had long since detached from any sane discussion on debasement, but it often takes only a small ripple to trigger a broader correction, especially when there is leverage around."
7.16am: FTSE 100 called sharply lower as commodities and crypto crumble
The FTSE 100 is expected to slump out of bed at the start of the week, with the new month of February bringing a new big sell-off in gold, silver, copper, bitcoin and other assets.
London's blue-chip index has been called 80 points lower early on Monday, after it added just over 80 points last week to close at 10,223.5, having climbed 272 points during the month, including notching new intraday highs.
But the week begins with gold down over 7% to $4,536 an ounce, silver down 12% to $74.3/oz, copper down 4.7% to $5.64/t, brent crude oil down 4.5% to $66.2 a barrel, with natural gas, platinum, lithium and others falling too.
Crypto markets are not proving very 'uncoupled', with bitcoin tumbling 2.3% to $76,281 and ethereum down 7.6%.
UK house prices, meanwhile, were up 0.3% last month, according to Nationwide, with an annual rise of 1.0% in January,