The FTSE 100 rose to a fresh record high on Wednesday as strong metals prices lifted miners, and AstraZeneca rose after announcing an AI acquisition.
London’s leading index was 0.3% higher at 10,171 at the time of writing.
“The FTSE 100 is going from strength to strength, hitting yet another new record high,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.
“The blue-chip index of UK stocks hit 10,171 in early trading, propelled by a good spread of industries. Endeavour Mining was boosted by ongoing strength in the gold price, with the metal hitting $4,639 per ounce. Gold has become an investor favourite over the past year thanks to a backdrop of uncertainty around geopolitics, inflation and a weakening US dollar.”
Endeavour Mining was the top riser at the time of writing.
Days after miners Glencore and Rio Tinto announced discussions about a potential merger, the two heavyweight miners played a central role in the FTSE 100, touching fresh record highs in reaction to strong Chinese trade data. Both were up around 2% at the time of writing.
“China’s exports have surprised on the upside, with a 6.6% rise in December compared to a year earlier,” said Susannah Streeter, Chief Investment Strategist, Wealth Club.
“Far from crushing China’s might as factory of the world, flush with overseas orders, US trade policy seems just to have cemented its position. China posted a record $1.189 trillion trade surplus in 2025, with exports rising 5.5% while imports stayed pretty static.”
Pearson shares were rooted to the bottom of the leaderboard, down 6%, after releasing a downbeat trading statement that outlined slower growth than some investors may have liked.
The impact of a $5bn write-down of BP’s green energy assets sent shares in the oil major marginally lower, as it sought to front-load bad news on the unit, which is set to be less of a priority for the new CEO.
“The logic behind BP’s about-turn on its green energy push is reaffirmed by impairments in a teaser ahead of quarterly results,” Dan Coatsworth said.
“Put the write-downs together with a weak showing for its oil trading arm and the impact from weaker oil prices looks like the final set of quarterly results before Meg O’Neill steps into the hotseat in April will be downbeat.
“From O’Neill’s perspective this is no bad thing as it gives her a low base from which to build. However, it does illustrate the scale of the challenge in front of her.”
AstraZeneca helped add a number of points to the FTSE 100 after announcing the acquisition of Modella AI to help oncology research.