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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| HSBC Holdings | 1,277.2 | 2.8% |
| Babcock International Group | 1,494.0 | 2.8% |
| NatWest Group | 667.6 | 2.6% |
| St James’s Place | 1,497.5 | 2.6% |
| Kingfisher | 331.6 | 2.5% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Fresnillo | 4,140.0 | -6.9% |
| Relx | 2,720.0 | -5.1% |
| The Sage Group | 989.6 | -5.1% |
| Experian | 2,785.0 | -5.0% |
| Endeavour Mining | 4,344.0 | -4.4% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 Year, not sorted |
| UK 100 INDEX | 10,208 | 0.6% | 19.6% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 49,003 | 0.8% | 9.3% |
| DAX INDEX | 24,894 | 0.2% | 16.2% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 53,359 | 0.1% | 36.8% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 8,934 | 0.1% | 6.4% |
| Commodities | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 62.49 | 0.16% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 67.58 | 0.01% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 5,288 | 2.1% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 596 | 1.7% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 is called to open +6 at 10,214. The UK 100 is predicted to get off to a moderately positive start today, while the price of gold continues to outperform the stock market and reach new heights.
On the futures market, the UK equity index has been called six points higher, after yesterday gaining almost 59 points to close at 10,207.80, within touching distance of recent record highs.
Gold, is on another tear. After hitting $5,000 an ounce on Monday, the precious metal topped $5,150/oz overnight and in recent minutes topped $5,280, up 1.9% on the day and 21.75% for the month. Silver is up 2.4% at $117.8/oz too.
Overnight, US markets were uneven, with the Dow Jones 0.8%, dragged down by a sharp fall for giant insurer UnitedHealth. Optimism about Big Tech earnings in the coming days, saw the Nasdaq add 0.9% and the S&P 500 climbed 0.4% to a fresh record at 6,978.
Asian markets extended gains, tracking Wall Street’s record highs and renewed optimism around AI-linked earnings. Technology, semiconductor and data-centre related stocks led advances, with South Korea and Hong Kong outperforming. The Hang Seng climbed more than 2%, reaching its highest level since mid-2021, while mainland Chinese equities also posted solid gains. Japan lagged the broader region, with the Nikkei and TOPIX easing as a firmer yen weighed on exporters. Intervention speculation continued to influence FX-sensitive sectors, though losses were partially offset by strength in AI-related names.
Boohoo Group, the online retailer trading as Debenhams, has raised its profit expectations for the year to February after enjoying further good trading in the festive period. The AIM-listed group said it now expects adjusted EBITDA for the year to end-February 2026 to be £50 million, ahead of previous guidance of approximately £45 million given at its interim results. The company said the upgrade reflects “continued momentum” in the Debenhams brand, a “discernible improvement” in the performance of its youth brands such as Boohoo, PrettyLittleThing (PLT) and Nasty Gal, and accelerated progress on its transformation plan. All brands in the group were said to continue to trade profitably. After a turnaround at PLT, with an improvement in profitability described as “material”, the company said it was not longer looking to sell the brand. Management added that they are pursuing licensing opportunities and progressing with the disposal of non-core assets as part of the transformation plan, with proceeds expected to materially reduce net debt over the next 12 months.
Fresnillo reported a solid operational performance for 2025, with full-year attributable gold output of 600.3 koz surpassing guidance despite falling 5% year on year, while total attributable silver production, including the now-ended Silverstream, declined 13.5% to 48.7 moz but remained in line with guidance. Fourth-quarter figures showed mixed trends, with higher silver, lead and zinc volumes versus the previous quarter but sharp year-on-year falls in gold and silver, reflecting lower grades, reduced ore throughput at key mines such as Herradura, Saucito, Ciénega and San Julián, the cessation of mining at San Julián DOB and the discontinuation of zinc concentrates at Ciénega. The company issued 2026 guidance that trims expected silver and gold production compared with prior indications, citing mine-plan changes at Fresnillo, lower throughput and grades at Ciénega and delayed infrastructure at Saucito, while signalling a recovery in volumes from 2027 as new high-grade areas and projects come on stream, suggesting a near-term production dip but a constructive medium-term outlook for stakeholders.
Pets at Home today said revenues edged 0.8% higher to £472 million in the 12 weeks to 1 January, boosted by growth of 5% in its veterinary business. Retail revenues fell 1.1%, although the company said this represented a sequential improvement after positive volume growth across food and accessories. The company, which issued a profit warning in September, said it expects to deliver full-year results in line with the City consensus. Former Waitrose managing director James Bailey is due to take over as chief executive at the end of March. Interim executive chair Ian Burke said the company’s turnaround efforts have included reducing the price of over 1000 products by an average of 12%.
UK
Fresnillo (FRES) – Trading Statement
Pets at Home Group (PETS) – Trading Statement
Hargreaves Services (HSP) – Half-Year Results
Paypoint (PAY) – Trading Statement
US
AT&T Inc (NYSE:T) PMO
Automatic Data Processing Inc (NASDAQ:ADP) PMO
GE Vernova Inc (NYSE:GEV) PMO
Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:SBUX) PMO
International Business Machines Corp (NYSE:IBM) AMC
Meta Platforms Inc Class A (NASDAQ:META) AMC
Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) AMC
ServiceNow Inc (NYSE:NOW) AMC
UK
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) – Full Year Results
Glencore (GLEN) – Full Year Production Update
Antofagasta (ANTO) – Q4 Production & Operational Results
Primary Health Properties (PHP) – Trading Update*
Wizz Air (WIZZ) – Q3 Results
Greencore Group (GNC) – Q1 Trading Update
Hilton Food Group (HFG) – trading Update
ITM Power (ITM) – Half-Year Results
easyJet (EZJ) – Q1 Trading Update
Rank Group (RNK) – Interim Results
Henry Boot (BOOT) – Trading Statement
US
Blackstone Inc (NYSE:BX) PMO
Mastercard Inc Class A (NYSE:MA) PMO
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd ADR (NYSE:TAK) PMO
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (NYSE:TMO) PMO
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) AMC
Visa Inc Class A (NYSE:V) AMC
German GfK Consumer Confidence Survey
ECB’s Elderson speech
ECB’s Schnabel speech
Fed Interest Rate Decision
Fed Monetary Policy Statement
FOMC Press Conference
UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 29th January 2026:
None
UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 29th January 2026:
Pennon Group
Victrex
SSP Group
Hollywood Bowl Group
Supermarket Income REIT
Primary Health Properties
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