Finance
FTSE 100 Retreats From Record High as Tech Selloff Offsets Gains in Miners
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 3, 2026
2 min readLast updated: February 3, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 3, 2026
2 min readLast updated: February 3, 2026
FTSE 100 dips as AstraZeneca shares fall and energy stocks decline, with investors cautious ahead of the Bank of England's meeting.
By Tharuniyaa Lakshmi
Feb 3 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 pulled back from a record high on Tuesday as losses in AI-exposed stocks outweighed gains in miners, with investors cautious ahead of the Bank of England's policy meeting later this week.
The blue-chip index closed down 0.26%, after hitting an all‑time high of 10,373.28 points during the session.
The technology index dropped 11.8% after a sell-off in European software and data-analytics firms accelerated, as updated artificial intelligence models raised fresh doubts about whether incumbent firms can defend their business models.
Business information group RELX slid 15%, while exchange operator and data provider London Stock Exchange Group fell 12.7%, as both were caught up in the broader AI-linked selloff.
Elsewhere, the investment banking index was down 1.5%, while the retail index fell 2.6%.
"If you’re looking globally, risk appetite just isn't fully restored after the metals volatility we've seen since last week. Once the dust in the metals market finally settles, I believe we'll refocus on the broader risk-taking environment," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
Gold staged its biggest one-day rally since 2008, after a two-session commodity-linked stock selloff that traders said was triggered in part by U.S. President Donald Trump's choice for the next chair of the Federal Reserve. [GOL/]
The precious-metal miners index climbed 5%, snapping a three-day losing streak.
Heavyweight miners Rio Tinto and Anglo American ended up 3.4% and 7.2% respectively, as copper also gained after supply concerns and demand prospects offered support to the red metal.
The domestically focused mid-cap index FTSE 250 was down 0.6%.
In a busy week of global central bank meetings, the BoE is expected to keep its benchmark borrowing costs unchanged at 3.75% on Thursday.
Separately, UK grocery inflation eased to 4.0% in the four weeks to January 25, its lowest since April, at a time when the BoE is keeping a close eye on food prices for signals on broader inflation pressures.
(Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru. Editing by Harikrishnan Nair and Mark Potter)
The FTSE 100 is a stock market index that represents the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, based on market capitalization.
A central bank is a national institution that manages a country's currency, money supply, and interest rates, often overseeing monetary policy.
Commodity stocks are shares in companies that produce or trade physical goods such as oil, gold, and agricultural products, often influenced by commodity prices.
Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises, leading to a decrease in purchasing power.
A policy meeting is a gathering of central bank officials to discuss and decide on monetary policy actions, such as interest rate changes.
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