The FTSE 100 rose on Monday as traders reacted to the US strike on Venezuela and prepared for a busy week of festive trading updates from the UK’s leading retailers.
London’s leading index was trading 0.1% higher at the time of writing – just beneath the 10,000 level. The index hit 10,022 earlier in the session before easing back.
“The FTSE 100 hovered just under the 10,000 level as investors loaded up on shares in gold miners and defence contractors off the back of US strikes on Venezuela,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
“Heightened geopolitical tensions like the ones we’ve seen over the weekend would normally spook investors, but global markets have avoided a sell-off. Investors appear to be taking the view that events in Venezuela will not lead to full-blown war. This situation is still fluid, which means that investor sentiment could quickly change.
“Defence stocks often move higher when there are heightened tensions between two countries as investors believe events could spur governments to spend more on military protection. It was only natural to see the sector in demand after Venezuela’s leader was captured. BAE Systems jumped 4.4% while on the German stock market, Rheinmetall moved 6.1% higher.”
Babcock was the FTSE 100’s top riser at the time of writing, adding 4.7%.
Rising gold prices drove traders into the shares of precious metals miner Endeavour Mining, which rose over 4% on Monday.
Interestingly, away from gold and defense stocks, other traditionally ‘safer’ sectors, such as utilities, tobacco, and consumer staples, were also lower, suggesting undertones of optimism in the first full week of trading in 2026.
This was reinforced by the upbeat session for cyclical mining and banking sectors. Glencore, Anglo American, and Antofagasta were all higher on the session, with Latin American copper miner Antofagasta jumping 3.4%.
Retailers were slightly weaker ahead of a raft of trading updates this week. Next was down 1% while Marks & Spencer fell 1.7%.
The first full week back after Christmas always provides an insight into the health of the UK consumer through the release of trading updates from FTSE 100 retailers.
“Next kicks off a big week for UK retail on Tuesday, with investors looking for another strong update after October’s sales update smashed expectations and profit guidance was lifted to £1.1 billion,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.
“Marks & Spencer reports on Thursday, hoping a solid Christmas can help it move past last year’s cyber-attack and rebuild confidence. Sainsbury’s follows on Friday, with festive trading likely to support its upgraded profit target of more than £1 billion. Together, these updates will help to paint a picture of consumer spending and whether retailers kept the tills ringing over Christmas.”