22nd Sep 2025 12:06
(Alliance News) - European stocks were mixed at midday on Monday, as mining stocks received a boost from record gold prices and airlines continue to drag on London's blue chip index.
The FTSE 100 index was up 2.03 points at 9,218.70. The FTSE 250 was up 21.85 points, 0.1%, at 21,611.78, and the AIM All-Share was up 5.24 points, 0.7%, at 778.84.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 923.82, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 18,917.97, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.3% at 17,349.41.
"Like a teenager still adjusting to being back at school, the FTSE 100's recent lethargy continued as the index traded lower at the start of the new trading week," said AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould.
The FTSE 100 index had opened down 0.1% on Monday.
Mould continued: "US indices may have clawed their way to new record highs last Friday and the Nikkei 225 bounced back on Monday, but UK stocks were held back by weakness in the telecoms, retail and airline sector.
"The mining sector was in demand, particularly precious metal producers after gold hit a new record. The traditional safe-haven asset is benefiting from hopes for further rate cuts as well as continuing geopolitical uncertainty, big government debt in the developed world, and demand from central banks."
Mining stocks remained in the FTSE 100's top spots around midday, with Endeavour Mining gaining 5.1%, Fresnillo advancing 4.4%, Rio Tinto improving 2.1%, Glencore edging up 1.9% and Antofagasta up 1.4%.
Gold was quoted higher at USD3,727.41 an ounce against USD3,670.59. The yellow metal reached a record high of USD3,728.40 earlier in the day.
Airlines, on the other hand, remained near the bottom, with easyJet down 0.9% and IAG falling 0.8%. Ryanair slipped 0.3%.
The EU on Monday ordered France to recover EUR1.8 million from Ryanair, after concluding the low-cost Dublin-based airline had wrongly received state aid from the entity managing Carcassonne airport.
The European Commission, the EU's antitrust watchdog, opened a probe in 2012 to determine whether Ryanair and the airport's former manager struck agreements that were in line with the bloc's state aid rules.
The investigation found 11 contracts with the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Carcassonne-Limoux-Castelnaudary, CCI, a public entity and the airport's manager until 2011, "conferred an advantage on Ryanair", the commission said.
The news followed an alleged cyber attack over the weekend targeting a service provider for check-in and boarding systems.
Heathrow, Brussels and Berlin airports all experienced delays and disruption on Saturday following the "technical issue" affecting Collins Aerospace, which works for several airlines at multiple airports across the world.
In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt shed 0.6%.
Wilmington rose 3.0%.
The provider of information and training for governance and risk & compliance reported lower annual profit due to reduced disposal gains and higher adjusting items, though ongoing operations delivered double-digit revenue and profit growth as the company increased its dividend.
Pretax profit for the year ended June 30 fell 24% to GBP18.4 million from GBP24.2 million a year prior. Revenue rose 3.2% to GBP101.5 million from GBP98.3 million, while operating expenses climbed 5.9% to GBP88.7 million from GBP83.8 million.
On an adjusted ongoing basis, pretax profit improved 18% to GBP28.4 million from GBP24.1 million, with revenue up 11% to GBP99.5 million from GBP89.7 million.
Wilmington said it has had a "good start" to the new financial year, with revenue and profit in line with expectations.
Elixirr International was down 1.2% around midday, as the London-based management consulting firm boosted its US footprint with a further acquisition, after an "exceptional and transformative" first half of 2025.
Pretax profit rose 28% to GBP15.4 million in the six months to June 30 from GBP12.0 million the year before. Revenue grew 35% to GBP71.4 million from GBP53.0 million, with record sales achieved in five of the six months in the period.
Elixirr also announced the acquisition of US-based consultancy TRC Advisory for a maximum USD125 million, including performance-based top-up and earn-out payments. The cash and shares deal is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing, Elixirr said.
The acquisition is the group's seventh since its AIM initial public offer in 2020, the fifth in the US and its largest acquisition to date, adding "significant scale" as well as "accelerating" growth in the US.
Meanwhile, B Hodl on Monday joined London's Aquis Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of around GBP19.6 million.
The Douglas, Isle of Man-based company describes itself as "founded exclusively for bitcoin accumulation and revenue generation from the bitcoin in its treasury".
Its initial public offering raised GBP15.3 million through subscriptions for around 95.3 million at 14 pence each. Based on the IPO price, B Hodl's market cap is GBP19.6 million, with 139.9 million shares in issue on the Access segment of the AQSE Growth Market.
The pound was quoted up at USD1.3500 at midday on Monday in London, compared to USD1.3475 at the equities close on Friday. The euro stood higher at USD1.775, against USD1.1746. Against the yen, the dollar was trading down at JPY147.85 compared to JPY147.89.
Stocks in New York were called lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 index, and the Nasdaq Composite were all called down 0.3%.
"The US dollar was relatively steady on Monday as investors looked ahead to a busy week of Federal Reserve communication following last week's policy easing. Chair Jerome Powell and several other policymakers are scheduled to speak in the coming days, with markets attuned to any signals on the pace and scope of future cuts," commented Exness analyst Dat Tong.
"Attention could turn to Fed Governor Stephen Miran, who dissented at the September meeting in favour of a larger 50-basis-point move. His upcoming speech is expected to provide a detailed defence of his decision and could shape market sentiment on the Fed's credibility amid heightened political scrutiny."
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.13%, narrowing from 4.14%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was unmoved at 4.75%.
Brent oil was quoted down at USD66.22 a barrel at midday in London on Monday from USD66.56 late Friday.
Still to come on Monday's economic calendar is the US Chicago Fed national activity index.
By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
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