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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Babcock International Group | 1,441.0 | 3.8% |
| LondonMetric Property | 196.0 | 3.8% |
| Segro | 743.6 | 3.4% |
| Barratt Redrow | 385.0 | 3.3% |
| IMI | 2,616.0 | 3.2% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Fresnillo | 3,500.0 | -4.8% |
| Antofagasta | 3,387.0 | -4.4% |
| NatWest Group | 632.4 | -4.3% |
| Diageo | 1,577.0 | -4.1% |
| Entain | 743.6 | -3.7% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 Year |
| UK 100 INDEX | 10,048 | 0.7% | 21.8% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 48,996 | 0.9% | 14.9% |
| DAX INDEX | 25,122 | 0.9% | 23.6% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 51,117 | 1.6% | 27.9% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 8,721 | 0.3% | 4.5% |
| Commodity | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 56.20 | 0.38% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 60.20 | 0.40% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 4,433 | 0.5% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 585 | 0.2% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 is called to open -28 points at 10,020. The UK 100 looks set to open slightly lower again this morning, following yesterday’s session Stateside which saw declines for the US indicies. The UK’s bluechip index also gave up 74 points, however is still in positive territory for 2026.
The S&P and Dow Jones pulled back from record levels on Wednesday as areas of the market that were hot to start the year lost steam. The broad market index dropped 0.34% and closed at 6,920.93. The 30-stock Dow fell 466 points, or 0.94%, settling at 48,996.08. Both indexes rose to fresh all-time highs earlier in the session. The Nasdaq gained 0.16% and ended at 23,584.27.
Equity markets in Asia struggled, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Taipei, Mumbai and Bangkok all down. Sydney, Manila and Jakarta rose, while Wellington was flat. Seoul edged marginally higher to another record, though tech giant Samsung sank even after saying it expected its fourth-quarter profit to reach a record $13.8 billion. Tokyo stocks were weighed after China announced an anti-dumping probe into imports from Japan of a key chemical used in making semiconductors, a day after it banned the export to the country of goods with potential military uses. The move adds to rising diplomatic tensions between the Asian giants since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested in November that her country may react militarily in any attack on Taiwan.
Primark owner Associated British Foods today said the retail chain had performed below expectations in the 16 weeks to 3 January. In the UK, Primark sales growth of 3% included a like-for-like performance of around 1.7% “in a difficult clothing market, particularly over Christmas”. Primark’s continental Europe operation reported a like-for-like decline of 5.7%. AB Foods said: “Overall, Primark’s sales growth in the period was below our previous expectations and we now expect Primark’s sales growth in the first half of 2026 to be in the low single digits.
Greggs has told shareholders that market conditions remain “challenging”. Greggs insists, though, that it is continuing to outperform the market, by growing its market share compared with a year ago. It has reported that like-for-like sales at its company-managed shops rose by 2.9% in the fourth quarter of last year. Greggs says that “subdued consumer confidence continued to impact the food-to-go market, as did weather extremes earlier in the year” (when it was either too cold or too hot).
Marks & Spencer today reported weaker fashion, home and beauty sales in the 13 weeks to 27 December, offset by a strong performance in food. The like-for-like decline of 2.9% reflected reduced high street footfall and impact on stock data and management following the cyber incident earlier in the year. Stock into the sale period during December was higher than last year but M&S said sell-through rates have been strong. Food like-for-like sales rose 5.6% on UK volume growth of 2.3%. The company said its food business has outperformed the market for more than three years in both value and volume, with November’s share of 4% a historical high. Chief executive Stuart Machin said: “We enter this new calendar year full of ambition and laser focused on our plan to reshape M&S for further growth.
Tesco has reported that UK sales rose by 3.2% in the six weeks to 3 January, and by 3.9% in the previous 13 weeks (its third quarter). Sales of its Finest food range rose by 13.0%, with “particularly strong growth” of 22% in Tesco’s party food range. Like-for-like Home & Clothing sales rose 2.1%, including clothing growth of +4.4% for the Christmas period. And in a boost to shareholders, Tesco is now predicting that “following a strong Christmas performance” it expects to post adjusted operating profits at the upper end of the £2.9bn to £3.1bn guidance range issued in October.
UK
Greggs (GRG) – Trading Announcement
Marks & Spencer (MKS) – Trading Announcement
US
None
UK
Unite Group (UTG) – Trading Announcement
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) – Trading Announcement
US
None
Chinese Imports
Chinese Exports
Chinese Trade Balance
German Factory Orders
EU Business Climate
EU Consumer Confidence
EU Economic Sentiment Indicator
EU Producer Price Index
EU Unemployment Rate
US Initial Jobless Claims
UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 8th January 2026:
Sage Group
Ashtead Group
Experian
UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 8th January 2026:
Workspace Group
XPS Pensions Group
TBC Bank Group
Greencore Group
MITIE Group
QintetiQ Group
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