The FTSE 100 was battling to keep its head above water on Wednesday as strength in the mining sector, and Burberry, was offset by losses for Experian and financials.
London’s leading index was down 0.1% at the time of writing after gently undulating between losses and gains for most of the session.
“The FTSE 100 held up in early trading on Wednesday despite a rebound in UK inflation and continued uncertainty over Greenland,” says AJ Bell head of markets Dan Coatsworth.
“The hope will be that some form of compromise can be found as Donald Trump meets with European leaders and speaks at the World Economic Forum in Davos.”
Slightly hotter than expected inflation data was taken in the market’s stride after wage inflation data released yesterday squashed all hopes of a UK interest rate cut in February.
London also shook off the negativity of the worst session for US stocks overnight since the middle of last year as US investors dumped stocks amid a wider US asset sell-off.
In the UK, miners were among the risers on Wednesday after Rio Tinto buoyed the sector with strong production figures. Rio Tinto was near the top of the leaderboard with gains of 4.8% while Glencore rose 3.6%.
The combination of increasing production and M&A activity makes the mining sector an interesting consideration going into 2026.
Burberry was fighting it out with Rio Tinto for the place at the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard after the luxury brand released a trading statement that reconfirmed the firm’s turnaround with 3% increase in comparable sales during 2025.
“A central pillar of Burberry’s turnaround plan has been a renewed focus on heritage, led by the check scarf, trench coat and the reintroduction of scarf bars in stores,” explained Yanmei Tang, Analyst at Third Bridge.
“Our experts say this strategy is logical in the near term but comes with clear limits. There is a saturation point for these iconic products, particularly among high value clients, who are unlikely to keep buying multiple check pieces indefinitely.”
Burberry shares were 5% higher at the time of writing.
Financials were among the top fallers on Wednesday, offsetting gains in the mining sector. Lloyds and Barclays were down in the region of 1% – 2%, while ICG Group slipped 2.2% after announcing AUM was almost flat quarter-on-quarter.
Experian was bizarrely the top faller, shedding more than 5%, despite the group reporting strong sales growth across most business units and 12% global revenue growth in the three months ending December 2025.
“With continued strong momentum, our full year expectations are unchanged. We continue to leverage our scaled proprietary data assets, strong technology foundations and deep expertise to deliver on our strategic priorities and crystallise exciting new AI opportunities,” said Brian Cassin, Chief Executive Officer of Experian.
The market reaction to the results seems unjust.