(Alliance News) – Stock prices in London were mixed at midday on Monday, as the FTSE 100 recovered from its earlier fall as the decline in metal prices eased.
The FTSE 100 index was up 41.09 points, 0.4%, at 10,264.63. The FTSE 250 was down 72.25 points, 0.3%, at 23,181.11, and the AIM all-share was down 6.90 points, 0.8%, at 810.63.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.5% at 1,024.53, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.2% lower at 20,477.53, and the Cboe small companies was down 0.3% at 18,646.89.
In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.5% higher.
Sterling was at USD1.3703 at midday on Monday, down from USD1.3719 at the London equities close on Friday. The euro was lower at USD1.1867 from USD1.1881. Against the yen, the dollar was higher at JPY154.74 versus JPY154.30.
“Commodities markets have experienced a significant shockwave, with metal prices down sharply. This has reversed a winning trade for the plethora of commodity producers on the FTSE 100,” said AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould.
Gold was in focus on Monday, as the yellow metal was sharply lower at USD4,771.00 an ounce at midday on Monday from USD5,003.82 late Friday.
The price of silver lost 3.0%, and copper slid 4.6% from Friday.
Endeavour Mining was the biggest faller on the FTSE 100 and lost 3.3%, while Antofagasta fell 2.1%, Fresnillo was down 1.6%, and Glencore was 0.6% lower.
The miners had recovered much of their earlier losses by midday.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould said: “Gold has now fallen 21% from its USD5,594 per ounce peak on 29 January to an intraday low of USD4,403 per ounce. Silver has fallen by more, down 32% since its year-to-date high less than a week ago. Copper and oil also fell in value.
“There are many theories as to why gold and silver have fallen so dramatically in recent days. One is that metal prices went up too far, too fast, and we’re now seeing the market lose the froth and return to normality.”
Mould added: “Certain people bought gold because they were worried about a potential loss of Federal Reserve independence as [US President Donald Trump] called for a much lower cost of borrowing. Trump surprised the market last week by nominating Kevin Warsh as the new Fed chair, an individual with hawkish tendencies and who might not favour rapid and sharp interest rate cuts.
“Having been weak for some time, the US dollar regained strength on his nomination. A stronger US dollar makes gold more expensive for buyers using other currencies, thus dampening its appeal. Warsh is also seen as having the qualities to help preserve the independence of the Fed, another relief for markets and another headwind for gold.”
Alongside the fall in metals, Brent oil was trading lower at USD66.05 a barrel from USD69.76 on Friday.
As a result, BP and Shell shares were down 1.0% and 0.9% respectively on early Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, job cutting in the UK’s manufacturing sector fell to its weakest since job losses started 15 months ago as growth in activity in the sector accelerated in January.
The S&P Global UK manufacturing purchasing managers’ index jumped to a 17-month high of 51.8 points in January, from 50.6 points in December, beating the first estimate of 51.6 points. Climbing above the neutral 50-point mark separating growth from contraction, it indicates the pace of growth in the UK’s manufacturing sector sped up in January.
Notably, UK business optimism was at its highest level since before the 2024 autumn budget, with 58% of manufacturers expecting output to rise over the next 12 months. S&P said that confidence reflected hopes for a recovery in market confidence and a reduction in geopolitical uncertainty.
Stocks in New York were called lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called down 0.1%, the S&P 500 index 0.5 lower, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.8%.
AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould said: “The sharp sell-off in gold and silver-related assets threatens to weigh on investor sentiment globally. It also doesn’t help that the big tech stocks in the US have gone from being responsible for strong market gains to being the epicentre of worries around excessive spending. Wall Street futures imply a bad day for the tech-heavy Nasdaq index when US markets open later today.”
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.23%, narrowing from 4.25% on Friday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury widened slightly to 4.86% from 4.85%.
In London, AstraZeneca rose 1.7% on the FTSE 100 after it said Imfinzi, in combination with chemotherapy, has been recommended for approval in the EU for the treatment of adult patients with resectable, early-stage and locally advanced gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers.
The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency based its positive opinion on event-free survival and overall survival data from the Matterhorn phase three trial, AstraZeneca said.
In addition, the FTSE 100 listing said trading in its shares will begin on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday for the first time.
AstraZeneca said the trading of its shares is now aligned across the NYSE, the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stockholm under a harmonised listing structure.
“This will allow even more investors to participate in AstraZeneca’s future,” said Chair Michel Demare.
On the AIM market, Zoo Digital shares were up 8.1%.
The Sheffield, England-based digital media service provider said it has seen an increase in request for proposal activity which it said is a “sign of an industry returning to business-as-usual following a period of prolonged disruption”.
It said Chair Gillian Wilmot will leave by the 2026 annual general meeting, with director Mickey Kalifa also set to depart.
Senior Independent Director Nathalie Schwarz will become chair.
Still to come on Monday’s economic calendar is the US manufacturing PMI reading, due at 1445 GMT.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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