Business
FTSE 100 starts new year higher but slips back after crossing 10,000
Blue chips began 2026 in positive fashion on Friday, although the FTSE 100 closed well below early highs which saw the index cross 10,000 for the first time.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 19.76 points, 0.2%, at 9,951.14.
It had earlier traded as high as 10,046.25, a record intraday level.
The FTSE 250 index ended up 61.17 points, 0.3%, at 22,409.21, and the Aim All-Share index closed up 2.44 points, 0.3%, at 768.83.
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: “Breaking through the 10,000 level is the best new year’s present Chancellor Rachel Reeves could want.
“She has been banging the drum about the merits of investing over parking cash in the bank, and the FTSE 100’s achievements just go to show what’s possible when buying UK shares.
“It also proves to cynics that the UK market is not stuck in the mud, and that the US stock market is not the only place to make money.”
Mr Coatsworth pointed out it has only been 171 days since the FTSE 100 hit 9,000, “so exceeding 10,000 at the start of 2026 makes it a record-breaking leap”.
“Previously, the fastest jump in blocks of 1,000 happened when the FTSE 100 went from 5,000 to 6,000, which took 229 days in the late 90s,” he said.
Jemma Slingo, pensions and investment specialist at Fidelity International thinks there could be more advances to come.
“Despite the milestone, valuations remain attractive – the FTSE 100 still trades at a discount to the US and Europe, even as sentiment towards UK companies improves,” she said.
“With around a quarter of FTSE 100 revenues coming from the US, investors are gaining exposure to global growth at a discount – and with a healthy dividend yield to match.”
Rolls-Royce, a top performer in 2025, was a prominent riser, up 4.1%, while another leading light in 2025, Airtel Africa, climbed a further 1.8%.
But Endeavour Mining, another star performer in 2025, shed 5.7% after Mali and Burkina Faso said they will bar US citizens from entering their countries in response to a similar move by the Trump administration.
The two West African states were recently placed under full entry restrictions under US President Donald Trump’s expanded travel ban.
Endeavour Mining primarily operates in West Africa and has significant gold mining assets in Burkina Faso.
With corporate news thin on the ground, the main early focus in London was on figures on house prices and manufacturing activity.
The final S&P Global UK manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 50.6 points in December from 50.2 in November, a 15-month high, although below the earlier flash estimate of 51.2 points.
Chris Barlow, head of manufacturing at accountants MHA said the data confirmed that “at long last the UK manufacturing sector can look forward to 2026 with modest, albeit patchy, confidence”, following an increase in November and further improvement in December.
Meanwhile, the Nationwide house price index showed UK house price growth cooled to 0.6% year-on-year in December from 1.8% in November.
It is the slowest pace of annual growth since April 2024 and below FXStreet consensus which forecast an increase of 1.2%.
The building society said house prices fell 0.4% in December on-month, reversing a 0.3% gain in November and compared to market consensus which predicted a 0.1% rise.
Housebuilders were mixed after the report, with Barratt Redrow down 0.6% but Berkeley Group up 0.7%.
In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 0.6% and the DAX 40 ended up 0.2% in Frankfurt.
Data showed the eurozone’s manufacturing sector contracted more than expected in December, hitting a nine-month low.
The final Hamburg Commercial Bank eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 48.8 points in December from 49.6 in November, pushing it further below the 50.0-point no-change mark.
The figure came in below the 49.2 flash reading reported in December.
The pound was quoted at 1.3491 dollars at the time of the London equities close on Friday, up from 1.3463 dollars at Wednesday’s close.
The euro was lower at 1.1745 dollars from 1.1754 dollars.
Against the yen, the dollar was trading at 156.64 yen, up slightly from 156.62 yen.
Stocks in New York were mixed at the time of the London close on Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3%, the S&P 500 was flat and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.2%.
Tesla shares fell 1.3% as it reported lower sales than expected in the fourth quarter of 2025, ceding its position as the world’s biggest electric vehicle company in annual sales to Chinese auto giant BYD.
The American company led by Elon Musk logged 418,227 deliveries in the final three months of the year, taking its full-year sales figure to around 1.64 million EVs.
A day prior, BYD reported that it sold 2.26 million EVs last year.
Analysts had expected a more moderate decline in Tesla’s fourth-quarter sales, to 449,000 deliveries, according to a FactSet consensus.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.19% on Friday, stretched from 4.11% on Wednesday.
The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was at 4.87%, widened from 4.80%.
Back in London, Spire Healthcare rose 1.1% after Sky News reported that the company has set a deadline for potential acquirers to signal takeover interest.
Boku rose 5.5% after launching a share buyback of up to 5% of its stock, saying the board believes the current valuation undervalues the business.
Brent oil was lower at 60.09 dollars a barrel at the time of the London equities close on Friday, down from 61.56 dollars late on Wednesday.
Gold was higher at 4,320.16 dollars an ounce at Friday’s close, against 4,315.0 dollars on Wednesday.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Rolls Royce, up 47.0 pence at 1,197.0p, Burberry Group, up 47.5 pence at 1,316.5p, Melrose Industries, up 21.6p at 610.0p, Centrica, up 4.8p at 174.3p and St James’s Place, up 39.0p at 1,423.5p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Endeavour Mining, down 222.0p at 3,650.0p, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, down 222.0p at 6,570.0p, Sage Group, down 33.0p at 1,050.0p, Pearson, down 30.5p at 1,019.5p and Games Workshop, down 480.0p at 18,440.0p.
There are no local corporate events scheduled for Monday.
Later in the week, trading updates are due from retailers Next, Tesco, J Sainsbury and Marks & Spencer.
Monday’s global economic calendar has UK mortgage approvals data and the US ISM manufacturing PMI.
Later in the week, eurozone inflation figures and the US jobs report will be published.
– Contributed by Alliance News.
Business
India-US trade deal back in focus: Indian delegation to visit Washington next week for talks – The Times of India
India-US trade deal update: Months after India and the US announced an interim trade agreement that reduces tariffs on India to 18%, an official Indian delegation is set to travel to Washington next week for discussions with US authorities, a government source said on Wednesday.According to a PTI source, the visit is scheduled for next week. The agreement had originally been expected to be signed in March, but developments in the Donald Trump tariff regime following a ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States have changed the circumstances.
In this light, the talks between trade representatives of India and the United States are seen as particularly significant. Officials had earlier indicated that the deal would be concluded only after clarity emerges on the revised tariff structure in the United States.In February, the two countries had announced that they had finalised the framework for the first phase of their bilateral trade pact. As part of this understanding, the US had agreed to bring down tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent.However, the tariff environment in the US shifted after the court struck down sweeping reciprocal tariffs introduced by President Donald Trump. Subsequently, the US administration imposed a uniform 10 per cent tariff on imports from all countries for a period of 150 days starting February 24.Amid these changes, a planned meeting between the chief negotiators from both sides was deferred last month. The two countries had been scheduled to meet in February to finalise the legal text of the agreement.At the time the framework was agreed, India enjoyed a relative advantage over competing nations. That edge has since narrowed, as all US trading partners are now subject to the same 10 per cent tariff.The upcoming talks will also be crucial in the context of two ongoing investigations initiated by the Office of the United States Trade Representative under Section 301.On March 12, the USTR launched a probe covering around 60 economies, including India and China. The investigation aims to assess whether policies or practices related to the enforcement of bans on goods produced using forced labour are unreasonable or discriminatory, or whether they restrict US trade.A day earlier, on March 11, the USTR had initiated another Section 301 investigation focusing on the policies and industrial practices of 16 economies, including India and China.
Ads for supermarkets Lidl and Iceland have become the first to be banned under new rules governing “less healthy” food and drink.
The rules, which came into effect at the beginning of the year, are part of Government efforts to tackle childhood obesity by preventing ads for food and drink that is high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) appearing on television between 5.30am and 9pm, and online at any time.
The new ban applies to products that fall within 13 categories considered to play the most significant role in childhood obesity, including soft drinks, chocolates and sweets, pizzas and ice creams, but also breakfast cereals and porridges, sweetened bread products, and main meals and sandwiches.
Products that fall into these categories are than also assessed as to whether they are “less healthy” based on a scoring tool that considers their nutrient levels and whether products are high in saturated fat, salt or sugar.
Only products that meet both of the two criteria are included in the restrictions.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said an Instagram post for Lidl Northern Ireland by influencer Emma Kearney featured the grocer’s cheese pretzel, which was not categorised as HFSS and therefore did not fall within the restrictions, and its Pain Suisse product, which was classified as both HFSS and a sweetened bread product and was therefore banned under the new rules.
Lidl said the ad had been removed and they had liaised with their marketing agency to ensure that all future ads complied with the new rules.
In a separate case, Iceland confirmed that two ads included a tub of Swizzles Sweet Treats, a packet of Chupa Chups Laces, a bag of Chooee Disco Stix and a bag of Haribo Elf Surprises, which were all classified as HFSS.
They also provided nutrient profile information from their supplier which confirmed that Pringles Sour Cream & Onion crisps, also included in the ads, were not an HFSS product.
Iceland’s Luxury Aberdeen Angus Beef Roasting Joint, Vegetable Spring Rolls, Sticky Chicken Skewers and Lurpak Spreadable Butter, which were also included in the ads, did not fall within the new restrictions.
The ASA did not uphold a complaint against an Instagram post by influencer John Fisher – known to many as Big John – which featured him promoting menu items at a new German Doner Kebab outlet because the specific items shown in the ad were not classified as less healthy foods.
The watchdog also cleared a TV ad for On The Beach promoting free airport lounge access which featured a boy approaching a buffet and taking a chocolate ring doughnut.
The ASA said viewers would see the ad as showing an example of what was available in the lounge rather than for the doughnut itself, meaning it did not break the rules.
ASA chief executive Guy Parker said: “As the ad regulator, our role is to remain impartial and independent, making sure our new LHF rules, which reflect the law, are applied fairly and consistently.
“These initial rulings are an important step in building a clearer picture of how the rules are applied in reality.
“We’ll be continuing to play our role in administering and enforcing them, including by using tech-assisted proactive monitoring.”
An Iceland spokesman said: “The products highlighted were part of a bigger range in the specific display ad and were featured due to a technical fault with a data feed from a third-party supplier.
“As the ASA has pointed out, these initial rulings are helping to build a clearer picture of how the new rules are applied, following the initial confusion and debate around the regulations.”
At a meeting of the local authority’s executive on Tuesday, MacBeath said the scheme aimed to move beyond emergency aid by helping families become more financially “resilient”, offering advice on managing money, accessing benefits, reducing debt and finding work.
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India-US trade deal back in focus: Indian delegation to visit Washington next week for talks – The Times of India
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