31st Dec 2025 06:49
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 set to temper some of its roughly 20% year-to-date gain, after spiking to a record high on Tuesday.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 21.6 points lower, 0.2%, on Wednesday at 9,919.11.
The index of London large-caps closed up 74.18 points, 0.8% at 9,940.71 on Tuesday. It was its best-ever closing level and hit a record intraday high of 9.954.32 points. So far this year, the FTSE 100 has risen around 22%. In 2024, it advanced some 5%.
Precious metal miners have been among those leading the way, with Fresnillo enjoying a rise of around five-fold this year, spurred on by surging commodity prices. Fresnillo shares hit a record high on Tuesday.
Gold achieved a number of record highs this year, most recently spiking above USD4,549 last week. Gold bought USD4,303.72 an ounce early Wednesday, down from USD4,366.20 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, shares in Babcock and Rolls-Royce have roughly doubled, while BAE Systems has shot up around 50%, in a largely strong 2025 for the aerospace and defence sector.
It has also been a decent year for some high street banking names, with Lloyds Banking Group adding around 80%, Barclays some 78% and NatWest 62%. Asia-focused Standard Chartered and HSBC have risen 85% and 50%, respectively.
Not faring as well, brewer Diageo has shed around 37% so far in 2025.
It has been a mixed year for housebuilders, with Persimmon adding 13% thus far, Beazley up around 3.4%, but Berkeley Group largely flat and Barratt Redrow down 13%.
Advertising firm WPP would have been the worst FTSE 100-listed performer, slumping around 60%, were it not for its relegation from the index earlier this month.
Elsewhere among mid-caps, travel retail company WH Smith is down 46% so far 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 pence on Tuesday, having ended last year at 0.50p.
It has been a tough year for Revel Collective, however, with shares in the Revolution bars operator down some 95%. Earlier this month, it said a number of credible parties" are in talks with the firm, but warned any deal is unlikely to return any value to shareholders. The stock was suspended on Monday due to delayed results.
The wider AIM All-Share index has climbed 6.6% so far this year. It had fallen around 5% in 2024.
The pound fell to USD1.3455 early Wednesday, from USD1.3475 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. The euro declined to USD1.1735 from USD1.1762. Against the yen, the dollar rose to JPY156.63 from JPY156.25.
At the end of last year, sterling traded at USD1.25, the single currency around USD1.04, and the buck was buying some JPY157.
A barrel of Brent rose to USD61.24 on Wednesday, down from USD61.44 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. The North Sea benchmark fetched USD74.78 at the end of 2024, and its loftiest level this year of USD82.58 was achieved in mid-January.
In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.2% in afternoon trade. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 0.9% in an abbreviated trading day. It ha surged 28% so far this year. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 closed marginally lower on Wednesday, adding 6.8% for the year. Financial markets in Tokyo were closed on Wednesday.
Over in New York, where there is a full trading on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.2% on Tuesday, the S&P 500 lost 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2%. The Dow has added 14% so far this year, the S&P 17% and the Nasdaq 21%.
In Paris, the CAC 40 is set to open 0.4% lower ahead of a half trading day there. It has climbed 11% so far in 2025. Financial markets in Frankfurt are closed on Wednesday. The blue-chip DAX 40 wrapped up 2025 with a shorter trading day on Tuesday, rising around 23% in 2025.
In focus on Wednesday will be a US initial jobless claims reading at 1330 GMT. The reading is expected to show a pick-up in new claims to 220,000 from 214,000.
Federal Reserve officials were divided on the extent of labour market softness at the December Federal Open Market Committee meeting, with uncertainty amplified by a lack of data amid the US government shutdown, minutes showed on Tuesday.
At its December meeting, the FOMC elected to trim interest rates by a quarter point, its third cut in as many meetings.
The decision brought the target range for the federal funds rate to 3.50%-3.75%.
Nine of the 12-strong Federal Open Market Committee's voters backed the reduction.
Most participants said the move toward a more neutral policy stance would "help forestall the possibility of a major deterioration in labour market conditions," meeting minutes showed.
"Many of these participants also judged that the available evidence pointed to a reduced probability that tariffs would lead to persistent inflation pressures," the minutes read.
Looking ahead, most participants believed further downward adjustments to the target range would likely be appropriate if inflation declined over time as expected.
However, some suggested that their economic outlooks meant it "would likely be appropriate to keep the target range unchanged for some time after a lowering of the range at this meeting."
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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FresnilloBabcockRolls-RoyceBAE SystemsLloydsBarclaysNatwestStandard CharteredHSBC HoldingsDiageoPersimmonBeazleyBarratt RedrowWPPWh SmithFiinuThe Revel Collective