The UK stock market's FTSE 100 is up firmly in positive territory Friday morning, led by gains in the mining sector. Investors are also reacting to a slew of earnings news and other corporate announcements. Data showing an unexpected drop in consumer confidence is limiting market's upside.The benchmark FTSE 100, which advanced to 10,914.18, a new record high, was up 43.34 points or 0.4% at 10,890.04 a few minutes ago.RightMove, up 4.2%, tops the list of gainers in the FTSE 100 index. The stock is up after ...

Market Overview - The U.K. stock market's benchmark FTSE 100 declined by 58.60 points or 0.58%, reaching 10,064.13 [1] - Losses were primarily driven by energy and mining stocks due to a drop in commodity prices [1] Mining Sector - Mining stocks experienced significant declines following a drop in precious metal prices, with Antofagasta and Fresnillo falling by 4.6% and 4.3%, respectively [2] - Other notable declines included Anglo American Plc at 2.7%, Endeavour Mining at approximately 1.6%, and Rio Tinto nearly shedding 1% [2] Energy Sector - Energy stocks also faced losses, with Shell and BP decreasing by 4% and 3.5%, respectively, attributed to a slip in oil prices after an agreement between the U.S. and Venezuela for the export of up to $2 billion worth of Venezuelan crude oil [2] Gainers - Among the gainers, Barratt Redrow increased by 3%, Persimmon by 2.75%, Kingfisher by 2.5%, and Vodafone Group by 2.4% [3] Other Notable Stocks - British Land, LondonMetric Property, Relx, Land Securities, Segro, Mondi, Sainsbury (J), IMI, Berkeley Group Holdings, and Airtel Africa reported strong gains [4] - Conversely, Natwest Group and Intercontinental Hotels Group saw declines of 3.6% and 3.3%, respectively, along with other companies like Burberry Group, EasyJet, Diageo, Standard Chartered, Prudential, Entain, Barclays Group, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, and GSK [4] Economic Indicators - The S&P Global UK Construction PMI rose to 40.1 in December 2025 from a five-year low of 39.4 in the previous month, indicating a slight improvement in construction activity [5] - Civil engineering activity improved to 32.9 from 30.0 in November, while both housing activity and commercial construction saw declines [5]

Market Performance - The U.K. stock market's benchmark FTSE 100 surpassed the 10,000 mark for the first time in history, driven by strong buying in defense, mining, and energy sectors [1] - The FTSE 100 index gained nearly 22% in 2025 and started the new year positively, reaching a record high of 10,051.90 [1] Company Gains - Fresnillo increased by 2.7%, Glencore by 1.6%, and Anglo American Plc by 1% [2] - Rolls-Royce Holdings rose over 2.5%, Babcock International by 1.8%, and BP by approximately 1.7% [2] - Other companies such as IAG, Entain, SSE, HSBC Holdings, BAE Systems, Burberry Group, and JD Sports Fashion saw gains between 1.3% and 1.6% [2][3] Company Losses - Companies like Auto Trader Group, British Land, DCC, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, and others experienced losses ranging from 1% to 1.7% [4] Housing Market Data - UK house prices grew at the slowest pace since April 2024, with an annual growth of 0.6% in December, down from 1.8% in November [4] - On a monthly basis, house prices dropped by 0.4%, contrasting with a 0.3% increase in November [5] - The S&P Global UK Manufacturing PMI rose to 50.6 in November, revised down from a preliminary estimate of 51.2, but above market expectations of 50.4 [5]