2nd Jan 2026 09:21
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened the year on a strong note on Friday, with the FTSE 100 breaking above the 10,000-point mark for the first time to hit a historic high.
After ending 2025 just shy of the milestone, in a year in which the FTSE 100 registered a 22% gain – its best annual performance since 2009 – the index opened up 87.61 points, 0.9%, at 10,019.56.
The FTSE 250 was up 36.00 points, 0.2%, at 22,506.38, and the AIM All-Share was up 3.52 points, 0.5%, at 769.91.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 1.0% at 1,003.81, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 19,582.55, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.2% at 17,689.92.
It is a quiet day for corporate updates in London after a shortened and thinner trading week, which saw just a half-day of trading on Wednesday and a full closure on Thursday for New Year's Day.
Defence-oriented stocks were doing the heavy lifting on the FTSE 100 in early trade, with Rolls-Royce the top gainer, up 3.4%. Babcock and BAE Systems followed closely, rising 2.7% and 2.4% respectively.
The strength in defence stocks was supported by developments around Ukraine-Russia peace talks. On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a deal to end the war was "90% ready", but cautioned that key issues remained unresolved and warned against rewarding Moscow.
US-led efforts to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II have gained pace in recent weeks, though both sides remain divided over territory in any post-war settlement.
Russia, which occupies around 20% of Ukraine, is pushing for full control of the eastern Donbas region as part of any agreement, but Kyiv has warned that ceding territory would embolden Moscow.
In his New Year's Eve address, Zelensky said Ukraine wanted an end to the war but not "at any cost", stressing that any deal must include strong security guarantees to deter future Russian aggression.
"The peace agreement is 90% ready. Ten percent remains. And that is far more than just numbers," Zelensky said in the address, posted on his Telegram account.
Elsewhere in Europe, Germany's Rheinmetall was up 1.8%, while Safran in Paris rose 2.3%.
In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.6%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.4%.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3453 early on Friday in London, down from USD1.3463 at the equities close on Wednesday. The euro stood at USD1.1731, down from USD1.1754. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY156.87 compared to JPY156.62.
UK house price growth slowed more than expected on an annual basis in December, according to a report published on Friday.
The Nationwide house price index showed growth cooled to 0.6% year-on-year in December from 1.8% in November. This marked the slowest pace of annual growth since April 2024 and came below the FXStreet-cited consensus forecast of a 1.2% increase.
Nationwide said house prices fell 0.4% month-on-month in December, reversing a 0.3% rise in November and contrasting with market expectations for a 0.1% increase.
The average UK house price stood at GBP271,068 in December, down from GBP272,998 in November.
For 2025 as a whole, East Anglia was the weakest-performing region, with prices down 0.8% over the year. Northern Ireland was the strongest region for the third consecutive year, with prices up 9.7%.
Annual price growth in London remained subdued, with prices rising 0.7% in 2025 compared with a 2.0% increase in 2024.
Looking ahead to 2026, Nationwide Chief Economist Robert Gardner said housing market activity is expected to strengthen modestly as affordability gradually improves.
"We expect annual house price growth to be broadly in the 2% to 4% range" in 2026, he said.
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.4%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 2.8%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.2%.
In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended the year lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.6%, the S&P 500 down 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.8%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.16%, widening from 4.11%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.84%, widening from 4.80%.
Back in London, Seplat Energy rose 3.5% after Maurel & Prom agreed to sell its entire 20.07% stake in Seplat to Heirs Energies for USD496 million, with a further USD10 million potentially payable based on share price performance.
The deal covers 120.4 million shares at 305 pence each, with USD248 million payable immediately and the balance due within 30 days under an irrevocable letter of credit.
Maurel & Prom, a founding investor and Seplat's largest shareholder since 2010, said the exit allows it to refocus on direct oil and gas investments as it accelerates its growth strategy.
Chief Executive Officer Olivier de Langavant said the investment delivered "very strong returns" and expressed confidence that Seplat will "continue to thrive" under Heirs Energies, part of Heirs Holdings.
Tap Global shares fell 15% after the company reported narrower annual losses, rising revenue and user growth, while also announcing the resignation of its chief financial officer.
The London-based operator of a cryptocurrency payments and settlements app said pretax loss for the year to June 30 narrowed to GBP5.7 million from GBP18.2 million, aided by a reduced goodwill impairment of GBP4.7 million versus GBP15.9 million a year earlier.
Revenue rose 31% to GBP3.5 million from GBP2.6 million, while registered users increased to 391,000 from 368,844.
Tap said it now has a "clear pathway to monetising the infrastructure" it has built and will focus in financial 2026 on converting platform capabilities into long-term recurring value.
Chief Executive Officer Arsen Torosian said: "With payment integration complete and our AIM listing providing enhanced visibility and access to capital, we will prioritise the commercial scaling of our B2B vertical and accelerate initiatives aimed at increasing 'Primary Account' adoption across our 390,000-plus registered users."
Chief Financial Officer Steven Borg will step down on January 9, with Andrew Milmine appointed head of finance.
Brent oil was quoted at USD60.72 a barrel early in London on Friday, down from USD61.56 late Wednesday.
Gold was quoted at USD4,389.10 an ounce, up from USD4,315.00.
Still to come on Friday's economic calendar is a slew of manufacturing PMI releases for the UK, Canada, the US and the eurozone.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter
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