(Alliance News) – Stock prices in London opened mixed on Friday, with the FTSE 100 little changed as investors digested geopolitical developments around UK-China relations and heavy flow of European economic data, while Asian markets closed lower.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 0.50 points, marginally higher at 10,172.26. The FTSE 250 was up 22.05 points, 0.1%, at 23,290.45, and the AIM all-share was down 5.58 points, 0.7%, at 819.34.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 1,016.15, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.2% at 20,592.42, and the Cboe small companies was down 0.2% at 18,666.39.
US President Donald Trump warned it would be “dangerous” for the UK to do business with China, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer sought to strengthen economic ties with Beijing on the final day of his visit.
Starmer met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, making the case for what he described as a “more sophisticated” relationship between the two countries.
Asked by reporters early on Friday about the UK’s efforts to deepen economic links with China, Trump expressed clear disapproval.
“Well, it’s very dangerous for them to do that, and it’s even more dangerous, I think, for Canada to get into business with China,” he said.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited China earlier in January as the two countries sought closer economic ties, reaching a preliminary agreement to cut tariffs on selected goods.
Trump later threatened Canada with a 100% tariff on exports if Ottawa entered into a free trade agreement with China, though Carney denied any such plans.
The US president’s comments came as Starmer wrapped up his China visit, during which several UK-listed companies announced partnerships with Chinese firms.
AstraZeneca was up 0.1% after expanding its weight-management pipeline through a collaboration with China’s CSPC Pharmaceuticals to develop next-generation injectable therapies for obesity and type 2 diabetes.
The deal gives AstraZeneca exclusive global rights outside China to CSPC’s once-monthly injectable portfolio, including a clinical-ready GLP-1R/GIPR agonist and three preclinical programmes.
AstraZeneca will pay USD1.2 billion upfront, with up to USD3.5 billion in regulatory milestones, alongside further commercial payments and tiered royalties.
London Stock Exchange Group rose 0.6% after LSEG and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen long-term strategic cooperation across global markets, data and analytics, cross-border renminbi business, sustainable finance and financial innovation. The MoU was signed in Beijing during the UK prime minister’s visit.
Airtel Africa fell 3.5% despite reporting strong growth, with nine-month revenue to December 31 rising 28% to USD4.67 billion from USD3.34 billion, driven by customer growth, higher data usage and continued momentum in Airtel Money.
Operating profit climbed to USD1.53 billion from USD1.08 billion, while pretax profit more than doubled to USD1.02 billion.
In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.7%.
A raft of European economic data was in focus. France’s economic growth continued to slow in 2025, with gross domestic product rising 0.9%, down from 1.1% in 2024 and 1.6% in 2023. Producer price deflation also intensified in December, driven by sharp falls in energy-related sectors.
German data showed the economy expanding in the fourth quarter, with flash GDP up 0.3% quarter-on-quarter, while labour market conditions remained stable.
Spain’s economy maintained momentum at the end of 2025, with GDP growth accelerating to 0.8% quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter, beating expectations.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.3773 early Friday, lower than USD1.3797 at the London equities close on Thursday. The euro traded at USD1.1935 early Friday, lower than USD1.1950 late Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY153.87 versus JPY152.87.
In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.1%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 1.0%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 2.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.7%.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.1%, the S&P 500 down 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.7%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.27%, widening from 4.24%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.91%, widening from 4.87%.
Back in London, Saga was the top performer on the FTSE 250, up 3.5% after Deutsche Bank Research raised its price target to 600 pence from 285 pence and reiterated a ‘buy’ rating. Man Group followed, up 2.7%, after Deutsche Bank lifted its price target to 290 pence from 270 pence.
Among smaller caps, Peel Hunt climbed 6.3% after the investment bank said it continues to trade well and ahead of expectations in the second half, supported by strong performance across its investment banking and execution services franchises.
Gold was quoted at USD5,117.40 an ounce early Friday, lower than USD5,256.30 on Thursday.
Brent oil was trading at USD68.62 a barrel early Friday, lower than USD69.40 late Thursday.
Still to come on Friday’s economic calendar are German consumer price inflation, UK mortgage approvals, Ireland’s harmonised CPI, US producer prices and Canada producer prices.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter
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