Finance
UK's FTSE 100 drifts to record high in thin year-end trade
UK's FTSE 100 drifts to record high in thin year-end trade
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 30, 2025
By Medha Singh
Dec 30 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 index hit a record high in quiet trading on Tuesday, the penultimate session of 2025, supported by gains in banks and commodity-linked stocks with the index approaching its best annual showing in 16 years.
The blue-chip index ended 0.8% higher at 9940.7 points to hit a historic high for the first time in nearly seven weeks. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index eked out a 0.7% gain.
On the day, shares of Fresnillo climbed 6.8%, while Glencore, Anglo American and Rio Tinto added between 1.3% and 2.5% as gold, silver and copper prices recovered from Monday's lows.
An index tracking precious metal miners added 4.3% to hit a record high, while that on industrial metal miners firmed 2%, leading gains among sub-sectors. [GOL/] [MET/L]
Oil major Shell and BP added about 0.9% each, tracking higher oil prices. [O/R]
Banks also supported the rally, with HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and Standard Chartered up between 0.8% and 1.6%.
In corporate news, Ocado said the exclusivity of its agreements to provide retailers with pickup and dispatch technology has ended as previously signalled, allowing it to sign on more partners. Its shares ended 0.3% higher.
Volumes on London exchanges stood at 343.2 million shares, compared with a 20‑day average of 1.76 billion, LSEG data showed. Trading activity has remained below average since last week as investors were away during the holiday‑shortened Christmas and New Year period.
Domestic markets will close early on Wednesday for New Year's Eve and remain closed across most of the world on Thursday, January 1.
The FTSE 100 has outperformed major markets in 2025, underpinned by expectations of Bank of England rate cuts, strength in financials and miners, relatively cheap valuations and its appeal as a diversifier during global volatility.
The index has climbed more than 21% in 2025, on track for its fifth consecutive year in the green and its strongest annual showing since 2009. The pan-European STOXX 600 has gained 16.8% and S&P 500 has climbed 17.3%.
Earlier in December, the Bank of England cut interest rates by 25 basis points in a narrow vote for the fourth time this year but it signalled that the already gradual pace of lowering borrowing costs might slow further.
(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Vijay Kishore)
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