28th Jan 2026 09:14
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened slightly higher on Wednesday, with strength in mining stocks following another surge in gold prices, while currency markets remained in focus due to recent weakness in the dollar.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 6.15 points, 0.1%, at 10,213.68. The FTSE 250 was up 69.38 points, 0.3%, at 23,472.93, and the AIM all-share was up 6.37 points, 0.8%, at 831.19.
The Cboe UK 100 was marginally lower at 1,020.72, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.5% at 20,682.27, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.5% at 18,375.91.
Gold prices surged to fresh record highs, breaking above the USD5,200 level, driven by continued dollar weakness after signals that the Trump administration may be comfortable with a softer greenback.
The move followed last week's New York Federal Reserve "rate checks" in USD/JPY and was reinforced by comments from US President Donald Trump himself on Tuesday. Trump said he was unconcerned by the dollar's sharp declines in recent days, saying the currency was "doing great".
"Look at the value of the dollar. Look at the business we are doing. The dollar is, the dollar is doing great," Trump said.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3788 early Wednesday, higher than USD1.3765 at the London equities close on Tuesday. The euro traded at USD1.1973, up from USD1.1969. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY152.68, lower compared to JPY153.05.
Gold was quoted at USD5,284.50 an ounce, up from USD5,093.94 on Tuesday, lifting miners on London's blue-chip index. Endeavour Mining, Anglo American and Antofagasta were among the top gainers, up 3.8%, 2.7% and 1.4% respectively.
Fresnillo lagged the sector, rising 0.8%, after reporting lower fourth-quarter and full-year metal production, though gold output for 2025 exceeded guidance and silver production met expectations.
The miner said attributable gold production fell to 135,192 ounces in the three months to December 31, from 151,256 ounces in the third quarter and 203,942 ounces a year earlier. Full-year gold output totalled 600,287 ounces, down 5.0% from 631,573 ounces in 2024, but above the upper end of its 2025 guidance range.
Turning to geopolitics, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his visit to China will deliver tangible benefits for Britain, as he becomes the first UK premier to travel to Beijing in eight years.
Starmer arrived on Wednesday accompanied by nearly 60 leaders from British businesses and cultural institutions, signalling a renewed push to rebuild ties. He said the size of the delegation itself showed "there are opportunities" and that the trip would "bring benefits back to the UK".
Relations between London and Beijing cooled in recent years, but the Labour government has sought to re-engage through a series of ministerial visits. Starmer said he wants a "comprehensive and consistent approach to China", avoiding the swings "from golden age to ice age" seen under previous governments.
In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.7%, dragged lower by luxury goods group LVMH, which plunged 6.7% after reporting weaker annual results late Tuesday.
LVMH posted net profit of EUR10.88 billion for 2025, down 13% from EUR12.55 billion a year earlier, while revenue fell 4.6% to EUR80.81 billion from EUR84.68 billion. The company described its performance as "solid" given a "disrupted global economic and geopolitical environment". The total dividend of EUR13 was unchanged.
The results prompted broker downgrades, with Kepler Cheuvreux cutting its LVMH price target to EUR680 from EUR690, and Deutsche Bank Research trimming its target to EUR705 from EUR715, both retaining 'buy' ratings.
The DAX 40 in Frankfurt was marginally higher as consumer confidence in Germany improved more than expected for February, data from GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions showed.
The consumer climate indicator was estimated at minus 24.1 points for February, up from minus 26.9 in January and above FXStreet-cited expectations of minus 25.8.
Rolf Burkl, head of consumer climate at NIM said: "With the current increase, the consumer climate has recovered a significant portion of the strong losses from the previous month. However, the level remains low...the increase in the minimum wage on January 1, 2026, along with reduced inflation concerns among consumers, is clearly improving income prospects."
In Asia on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.1%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.6%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 2.5%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.1%.
In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.8%, the S&P 500 up 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.9%.
Markets are now bracing for the start of Big Tech earnings from four of the so-called Magnificent Seven. Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Tesla report on Wednesday, followed by Apple on Thursday.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was at 4.24%, widening from 4.22%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.86%, widening from 4.82%.
Back in London, British Land shares fell 0.6% after Life Science REIT, which shoot up 20%, agreed to a GBP150 million cash-and-shares takeover by British Land, with investor Saba Capital backing the deal through its 14% stake.
British Land will pay 14.1 pence in cash plus 0.07 new British Land shares for each Life Science REIT share, valuing the offer at 42.8 pence per share, a 21% premium to Tuesday's close. Life Science REIT shareholders would own around 2.4% of the enlarged group.
On the FTSE 250, Harbour Energy rose 3.7% after Berenberg raised its price target to 225 pence from 195 pence, while keeping a 'hold' rating.
Pets at Home was up 4.9%, after reporting third-quarter trading in line with expectations and reaffirming that full-year underlying pretax profit is expected to meet consensus forecasts of GBP93 million. Interim Executive Chair Ian Burke highlighted the "continued strong performance in Vet business and sequential improvement in Retail" as the company progresses its turnaround plan.
Among smaller caps, fast-fashion retailer boohoo climbed 6.5% after saying it is trading ahead of expectations for the year to February 28 and now expects full-year adjusted Ebitda of GBP50 million, up from prior guidance of around GBP45 million.
boohoo said it was "particularly pleased" with the pace and scale of PrettyLittleThing's turnaround, noting a material improvement in profitability. The board now intends to retain the PrettyLittleThing brand, having previously held it for sale.
Greatland Resources rose 2.0% after reporting a "strong" December quarter, with higher gold production and tightened full-year guidance.
Brent oil was trading at USD66.75 a barrel early Wednesday, up from USD65.92 late Tuesday.
Still to come on Wednesday's economic calendar are Ireland retail sales and interest rate decisions from Canada and the US.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter
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