3rd Dec 2025 17:09
(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 edged lower on Wednesday, despite strong gains in mining stocks and some brighter economic data.
"Miners did their best to prop up the FTSE 100, but opposing forces from the banking, pharma and utility sectors were too great to keep the index in positive territory," said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.
The FTSE 100 index closed down just 9.73 points, 0.1%, at 9,692.07. The FTSE 250 ended up 19.45 points, 0.1%, at 22,001.45, and the AIM All-Share closed up 0.85 of a point, 0.1%, at 749.17.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 971.42, the Cboe UK 250 ended up 0.2% at 19,084.48, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 17,612.42.
Miners led the way in London on rising metals prices, with copper showing particular strength.
Glencore rose 6.3%, Antofagasta rose 4.9% and Anglo American rose 2.5%.
At its capital markets day, Glencore said it is looking to restart operations at its Alumbrera copper and gold prospect in Argentina in the fourth quarter of 2026, aiming for first production in the first half of 2028. Alumbrera, commissioned in 1997, has not operated since 2018.
The miner expects copper production to rise at a compound annual growth rate of 9.4% from 2026 to 2029.
Elsewhere, Berkeley Group, in the red on Tuesday, rallied 2.5% on Wednesday as Jefferies upgraded to 'buy' from 'hold'.
The broker believes impending changes in London housing policy offer significant upside potential in medium-term profitability.
"Berkeley will need to replan its sites and any upside will take time to flow through the P&L. However our analysis shows the potential for [more than] 70% upside to the gross profit on the group's land bank and for replanned sites being capable of achieving [more than] 15% post-tax [return on equity]," Jefferies said.
Markets were also assessing an improved service sector PMI reading compared to an earlier flash print.
The services PMI business activity index fell to 51.3 points in November from 52.3 in October, but beat the flash reading of 50.5 released late last month, according to S&P Global.
"The flash PMI was sampled in the eye of the chaos after the chancellor reportedly ditched plans to hike income tax, which seemed to hammer business sentiment, but the final PMI sample window ran to the day of the budget and provides a more optimistic picture," Pantheon Macroeconomics analyst Elliott Jordan-Doak explained.
"The budget did nothing to boost growth prospects, but at least firms now have some clarity over taxes and can see that most of the hikes hit households, even if business rates are a sore point for retailers," he added.
In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 0.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended down 0.1%.
Stocks in New York were mixed at the time of the London equity close.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5% and the S&P 500 index was 0.1% higher, but the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.1%.
Across the pond, figures showed a surprise drop in payrolls in November, although there was more reassuring data on the services sector.
According to the payroll services provider ADP, the US private sector shed 32,000 jobs in November, compared to FXStreet consensus which forecast 5,000 job additions.
In October, ADP said 42,000 jobs were added, after 29,000 roles were lost in September.
"November hiring was particularly weak in manufacturing, professional and business services, information, and construction," the report showed.
The ADP report is typically the precursor to the official nonfarm payrolls data, usually released on the first Friday of the month. However, figures for November were delayed by the federal government shutdown and will now be released on December 16, after the Federal Reserve's next meeting.
Meanwhile, reports from S&P Global and ISM both showed the US services sector continues to expand, with new orders strength a particular bright spot.
The pound was quoted sharply higher at USD1.3342 at the time of the London equities close on Wednesday, compared to USD1.3195 on Tuesday.
The euro stood at USD1.1664, up against USD1.1607. Against the yen, the dollar was trading lower at JPY155.02 compared to JPY155.76.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.08%, narrowed from 4.10%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was unchanged at 4.75%.
Back in London, grocer J Sainsbury fell 4.2% after its top shareholder Qatar Holding said late Tuesday it plans to sell around GBP270 million worth of stock.
The share sale will see Qatar Holding replaced as Sainsbury's top shareholder by Vesa Equity Investment, run by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. Vesa currently has a 10% stake in the food retailer.
On the FTSE 250, Zigup soared 15% after forecasting that full-year underlying pretax profit will be "at least at the top" of the GBP150 million to GBP155 million range of analysts' expectations.
The Darlington, England-based vehicle rental and management firm reported a "great start" to the financial year, including a "standout" performance from its Spanish rental business and good momentum in the UK & Ireland.
Drax advanced 4.5% as Morgan Stanley and Citi both upgraded the stock, but Trainline hit the buffers, down 6.4% as JPMorgan downgraded the firm to 'underweight'.
Spire Healthcare plummeted 17% after warning that the recent slowdown in NHS commissioning activity would dent full-year profits.
As a result, the firm expects full-year adjusted group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be around the bottom end of the GBP270 million to GBP285 million guidance range.
For financial 2026, Spire expects adjusted Ebitda to be "broadly in line or slightly ahead of 2025."
Brent oil was quoted at USD63.04 a barrel at the time of the London equities close on Wednesday, up from USD62.81 late Tuesday.
Gold was quoted at USD4,222.94 an ounce on Wednesday, higher against USD4,174.00.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Glencore, up 22.75p at 383.10p, Antofagasta, up 136.00p at 2,907.00p, Anglo American, up 71.00p at 2,927.00p, Berkeley Group, up 88.00p at 3,678.00p and Weir Group, up 60.00p at 2,852.00p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were J Sainsbury, down 13.60p at 312.40p, NatWest, down 18.20p at 622.00p, Standard Chartered, down 40.00p at 1,660.50p, Marks & Spencer, down 7.60p at 332.50p and Haleon, down 7.70p at 361.10p.
Thursday's economic calendar has eurozone retail sales, a slew of construction PMI readings, and initial jobless claims data in the US.
Thursday's UK corporate calendar has full-year results from trading platform AJ Bell, half-year results from online classifieds group Baltic Classifieds, and a trading update from infrastructure firm Balfour Beatty.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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