31st Dec 2025 13:00
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London closed in the red on Wednesday, at the end of a shortened trading day, but the FTSE 100 index ended the year close to a new record despite a slight retreat on Wednesday.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 17.65 points, 0.2%, at 9,923.06. The FTSE 250 index ended down 75.93 points, 0.3%, at 22,482.43, and the AIM All-Share index closed down 1.07 points, 0.1%, at 765.89.
The FTSE 100 has registered a 22% gain over the course of 2025, ahead of the FTSE 250 index which has climbed 9.0% and the AIM All-Share index which has risen 6.4%.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 994.38, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.5% at 19,556.55, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.1% at 17,656.10.
In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed down 0.5% after a shortened day of trading. The DAX 40 is closed. Financial markets in Paris and Frankfurt will be closed on Thursday for the new year holiday, before reopening on Friday.
During 2025, the CAC 40 has climbed 10% while the DAX 40 is up 22%.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3463 at the time of the London equities close on Wednesday, down from USD1.3475 at Tuesday's close. The euro was lower at USD1.1754 from USD1.1762. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY156.62, up from JPY156.25.
Stocks in New York were called lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were called down 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite was called down 0.2%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.11% on Wednesday, narrowed slightly from 4.12% on Tuesday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was unchanged at 4.80%.
Miners have had a strong year on the FTSE 100 index, as Fresnillo shares have more than quintupled amid a rally in precious metal prices. Peers Endeavour Mining and Antofagasta have more than doubled over the course of 2025.
Elsewhere, shares in Babcock and Rolls-Royce have roughly doubled, while BAE Systems has shot up around 49%, in a largely strong 2025 for the aerospace and defence sector.
It has also been a strong year for some high street banking names, with Lloyds Banking Group adding around 79%, Barclays some 78% and NatWest 62%. Asia-focused Standard Chartered and HSBC have risen 84% and 50%, respectively.
Not faring as well, brewer Diageo has shed around 37% in 2025, while distribution and services firm Bunzl has also dropped 37%.
Advertising firm WPP would have been the worst FTSE 100-listed performer, slumping around 59%, were it not for its relegation from the index earlier this month.
Elsewhere among mid-caps, travel retail company WH Smith dropped 46% this year, with the bulk of that plunge coming from a single trading day in August, when an investigation found profit had been overstated in its North American division.
On AIM, financial technology provider Fiinu is the leading light, with shares closing at 8.48 pence on Wednesday, having ended last year at 0.50p.
In London on Wednesday, miners weakened after strong gains on Tuesday, with Fresnillo down 2.3% and Endeavour Mining 0.8% lower.
Elsewhere, among mid-caps, Senior shares climbed 0.5% as it prepared to start a GBP40 million share buyback programme after it completed the sale of its Aerostructures business to Sullivan Street Partners.
The disposal of the division to the London-based mid-market buyout firm was first announced back in July.
Senior will receive an initial GBP150 million consideration, with the remaining GBP50 million expected in the first half of 2026, depending on the 2025 earnings performance of Aerostructures.
Senior says it will use the initial cash proceeds to reduce debt and to fund the share buyback. This is expected to start following the release of the company's annual results on March 2.
Princes Group shares closed down 1.2% as it said its parent company NewPrinces Spa has completed the acquisition of Plasmon Srl from Kraft Heinz Co for EUR124.3 million in cash.
The Liverpool, England-based food and beverage firm said Plasmon is a newly established company which owns the business related to the manufacturing, packaging, marketing, selling and distribution of baby food and specialty nutrition food products.
This includes the number one baby food brand in Italy, Plasmon, as well as other brands including Nipiol, BiAglut, Aproten and Dieterba.
Princes said subsidiary Princes Italia Spa has entered an operating asset lease agreement with Plasmon, which will take effect on Thursday.
Under the terms of the lease, all operations related to the Plasmon business will be carried out by Princes Italia.
On the AIM market, MobilityOne shares more than doubled as it said its Malaysia subsidiary has received conditional approval from Labuan's financial services authority to establish an additional subsidiary to carry on its Islamic digital banking business.
The Kuala Lumpur-based e-commerce payment solutions provider said its wholly-owned subsidiary MobilityOne Sdn Bhd, also known as M1 Malaysia, will establish a subsidiary in Labuan to be named MBO Bank (Labuan) Ltd.
MobilityOne said the purpose of MBO Bank is to offer a "full suite of offshore financial services" through a Shariah-compliant platform to international clients, under the Labuan Financial Services Authority regulatory framework.
Due to the preparatory work required to meet the conditions of Labuan FSA approval, MobilityOne said it does not anticipate to record any revenue or earnings from the Islamic digital banking business in 2026.
Brent oil was slightly higher at USD61.56 a barrel at the time of the London equities close on Wednesday from USD61.44 late Tuesday.
Gold was lower at USD4,315.00 an ounce at Wednesday's close, against USD4,366.20 on Tuesday.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Pershing Square, up 52.00 pence at 4,846.00p, Anglo American, up 29.00p at 3,085.00p, Marks & Spencer, up 2.50p at 330.00p, British Land, up 2.40p at 403.80p, and 3i Group, up 19.00p at 3,263.00p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Fresnillo, down 78.00p at 3,334.00p, Croda International, down 61.00p at 2,695.00p, Beazley, down 12.00p at 832.00p, Experian, down 46.00p at 3,363.00p, and Diploma, down 60.00p at 5,295.00p.
There are no local corporate events scheduled for the remainder of the holiday-shortened week.
When the market reopens on Friday, there will be swathe of manufacturing PMI readings across the globe.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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FresnilloEndeavour MiningAntofagastaBabcockRolls-RoyceBAE SystemsLloydsNatwestBarclaysStandard CharteredHSBC HoldingsDiageoBunzlWPPWh SmithFiinuSeniorPrinces GroupMobilityonePershing Square HoldingsAnglo AmericanMarks & SpencerBritish Land3i GroupCroda InternationalExperianBeazleyDiploma