26th Jan 2026 16:59
(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 made modest headway on Monday, supported by fresh gains in mining stocks as gold and silver prices hit new highs.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 5.41 points, 0.1%, at 10,148.85.
The FTSE 250 ended 34.13 points higher, 0.2%, at 23,351.66, and the AIM All-Share closed up 5.74 points, 0.7%, at 828.49.
The Cboe UK 100 rose 0.3% to 1,016.12, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.4% higher at 20,599.29, and the Cboe Small Companies climbed 0.9% at 18,283.43.
Miners Fresnillo, Antofagasta and Endeavour led blue-chip risers, up 6.7%, 5.3% and 4.0%, amid strength in metals prices.
Gold was quoted at USD5,095.11 an ounce on Monday, after hitting another record high, and up from USD4,984.07 on Friday.
Meanwhile, the price of silver leapt 10%, pushing well above the USD100 an ounce landmark it hit late on Friday.
Russ Mould at AJ Bell noted: "In less than 18 months bullion has more than doubled in value – buoyed by central bank demand, global turmoil, dollar weakness, and the diminished appeal of other popular defensive assets."
Tom Stevenson, investment director at Fidelity International, said the yellow metal is the "ultimate risk-off safe haven - and investors have found plenty to worry about so far this year."
"With government bonds - the traditional safe haven - falling out of favour as concerns mount about the high levels of borrowing around the world...gold has become the go-to for risk averse investors," he pointed out.
The latest moves came amid increased uncertainty in the US with Mould noting the odds of another US government shutdown have increased as Democrats say they will block the federal spending package over the fallout from the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
Wells Fargo said the odds of a government shutdown starting on January 31 have risen sharply.
"Polymarket traders price the odds of a shutdown starting this Saturday at roughly 80%...which strikes us as reasonable based on what we know now," the broker said.
"Should another extended shutdown occur, it would leave the FOMC in a tricky spot. The lack of visibility that arises from receiving limited economic data could thrust an already divided FOMC into a period of stasis. Fed officials lamented the lack of clarity on inflation during the last shutdown. We expect they would again use this argument to delay additional cuts," Wells Fargo commented.
The political uncertainty plus speculation of intervention to support the yen sparked further dollar weakness.
ING noted widespread discussion late Friday that the Federal Reserve started asking banks in New York about their position sizes in USD/JPY, akin to a 'rate check', where a central bank might be preparing the market for physical intervention.
"That the Fed was allegedly doing this and not making clear that this activity was purely on behalf of Japanese authorities," has led to "understandable suggestions that the US might be on the verge of joint intervention with Japan," ING explained.
The pound was quoted higher at USD1.3704 at the time of the London equities close on Friday, compared to USD1.3567 on Thursday.
The euro stood at USD1.1884, higher against USD1.1758. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY153.99, lower from JPY157.99.
Kathleen Brooks at XTB said in the short term, a stronger yen means a weaker dollar, which is inflationary for the US.
"This is a good way to inflate away some of the US's debt pile, however, it may cause a big headache for the Federal Reserve. The central bank will meet this week, and we expect yen intervention to be a major topic up for discussion, along with the future of Fed independence."
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Wednesday after three successive cuts.
"The January FOMC meeting is likely to be uneventful, with no change to the fed funds rate, only minor changes to the statement, and few hints about the future policy path," analysts at Goldman Sachs said.
Goldman thinks the next cut will be in June, with one more in September.
In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed down 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended up 0.1%.
In New York, financial markets were higher at the time of the London equity market close.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4%, the S&P 500 was 0.5% higher, as was the Nasdaq Composite.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.22%, trimmed from 4.25% on Friday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.81%, narrowed from 4.84%.
Back in London, a report showed short-term inflation expectations increased in January.
According to the latest Citi/YouGov inflation expectation survey year-ahead expectations increased to 3.8% from 3.6% on a single-month basis.
This reverses the last two months of prospective disinflation in the series and brings it to the highest level since October 2025.
On a three-month rolling basis, however, year-ahead expectations fell to 3.7% from 3.8% thanks to the 4.2% reading in October falling out of comparison.
"This move is explicable, given recent data, but it will continue to keep the inflation expectation argument alive for monetary policy despite recent moderation in these series," analysts at Citi said.
On the FTSE 100, 3i fell 4.9% as RBC Capital Markets downgraded to 'underperform' from 'sector perform'.
The broker thinks the private equity and venture capital firm's key investment, discount retailer Action, is "at risk of moving into a period of diminishing returns" due to macro-economic pressures on its customers and increased maturity and competition in its major markets.
On the FTSE 250, Spire Healthcare rose 18% after confirming it is in early-stage discussions for a potential buyout.
The London-based private healthcare company named Bridgepoint Advisers and Triton Investment Advisers as two suitors with whom it had communicated so far.
The Takeover Code gives Bridgepoint and Triton until February 21 - unless an extension is granted - to declare a firm intention to make an offer.
Ninety One soared 8.4% as Bank of America raised to 'buy' from 'underperform', while Costain climbed 7.0% after striking a new agreement with the trustees of its defined-benefit pension scheme.
Costain said the deal clears the way for increased shareholder returns, including a GBP20 million share buyback this year.
The Maidenhead, England-based construction and engineering firm also intends to almost double its cash dividend payments in 2026 from 2025, starting with the final dividend for 2025.
Brent oil traded lower at USD65.43 a barrel on Monday, down from USD65.76 late on Friday.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Fresnillo, up 280.00p at 4,448.00p, Antofagasta, up 191.00p at 3,775.00p, Endeavour Mining, up 176.00p at 4,542.00p, Segro, up 22.40p at 752.00p and Pershing Square Holdings, up 96.00p at 4,646.00p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were 3i, down 160.00p at 3,129.00p, Autotrader, down 19.40p at 549.00p, Experian, down 97.00p at 2,932.00p, BT Group, down 5.45p at 182.80p and BAE Systems, down 54.00p at 1,973.00p.
Tuesday's global economic calendar sees the start of the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting and US house price data.
Tuesday's UK corporate calendar has trading statements from accountancy software provider Sage, boot maker Dr Martens and betting operator Evoke.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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