Business
FTSE 100 closes higher as gold and oil climb
The FTSE 100 made steady progress on Monday, despite underperforming European peers, supported by gains in the price of gold and oil.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 13.23 points, 0.1%, at 9,221.14. The FTSE 250 ended 108.91 points higher, 0.5%, at 21,684.45 and the AIM All-Share finished up 4.10 points, 0.5%, at 769.73.
In Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris ended up 0.9%, before a no-confidence vote which could see France’s Prime Minister Francois Bayrou step down, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt closed 0.9% higher.
In France, opposition parties across the board have made it clear they will vote against Mr Bayrou’s minority government, making it highly improbable that he will get enough backing to survive: he needs a majority of the 577 MPs in the National Assembly.
Mr Bayrou himself, who according to officials has invited his ministers for farewell drinks on Monday evening, appears to acknowledge that his time has run out.
In remarks on Sunday, he criticised political parties that he said “hate each other” and yet were joining forces “to bring down the government”.
In New York, at the time of the London equities market close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1%, the S&P 500 rose 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.7%.
Gold jumped to 3,644.14 dollars an ounce against 3,589.49 dollars on Friday.
Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said gold’s gains are the “logical crescendo of a market where rate-cut wagers, political meddling and creeping stagflation fears are converging into a perfect tailwind for bullion”.
Mr Innes pointed out that gold has gained 9% in the past three weeks and nearly 40% in the year to date.
“The real rate profile is heading negative again, and gold thrives when bonds can’t keep pace with inflation,” he added.
But he noted there was more to gold’s gains than just “monetary arithmetic”.
“The political backdrop has turned gold into the ultimate protest asset. Trump’s tariff salvos have already juiced stagflation chatter, and his courtroom push to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook is cutting straight to the heart of central bank independence.
“Traders know this script – when faith in the Fed wobbles, gold becomes the one institution that doesn’t default, dilute or lie,” Mr Innes said.
The pound rose to 1.3545 dollars late on Monday afternoon in London, compared with 1.3527 dollars at the equities close on Friday.
The euro edged up to 1.1749 dollars, against 1.1743 dollars. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at 147.60 yen compared with 146.94 yen.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.05%, narrowed from 4.07% on Friday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.71%, trimmed from 4.79%.
On the FTSE 100, Marks & Spencer rose 2.9% as Citi upgraded it to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’.
With the shares 18% below “pre-cyber levels, we see an attractive entry point for a business with good underlying momentum,” Citi said in a research note, noting April’s cyber attack.
The broker thinks the retailer is gaining share with younger customers in fashion, and seeing a larger mix of ‘bigger baskets’ in food.
Entain rose 1.2%, amid reports that it is looking to sell its Australian venues business, comprising market-leading pub poker provider Australian Poker League and a booming trivia arm.
The Australian Financial Review said the gambling operator, which owns Ladbrokes and Coral, has issued preliminary sales documents to private equity firms with the goal of offloading a business it views as non-core.
Babcock International Group climbed 1.7%, after a well-received investor presentation on Friday.
The “Marine Investor Day gave us confidence that there is upside risk to the mid-single-digit growth guidance for the division and a clear pathway to the 9% (plus) margin”, said Jefferies analyst Chloe Lemarie.
But Phoenix Group fell 7.6%, after mixed first-half results.
The London-based retirement savings firm reported better-than-expected operating profit, but this was offset by a larger-than-forecast drop in IFRS shareholders’ equity – an area of investor focus for Phoenix.
Meanwhile, ingredients maker Treatt Group leapt 18%, after accepting a £156.6 million offer from Natara Global Ltd.
Natara makes “aroma ingredients” for the flavour and fragrance sectors. It is based in Hartlepool, England and is majority-owned by the UK and European private equity firm Exponent.
FTSE 100 index heavyweights BP rose 0.7% and Shell firmed 0.4% as the oil price climbed.
A barrel of Brent traded at 66.31 dollars late on Monday afternoon, up from 65.14 dollars on Friday.
The oil price rose after eight key members of the Opec+ alliance said on Sunday that they have decided to increase production by 137,000 barrels per day (bpd) from next month. Those countries had already increased production by 2.2 million bpd in recent months.
The energy alliance raised output by around 550,000 per day in both August and September this year.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Marks & Spencer, up 9.9 pence at 352.1p, Fresnillo, up 60.0p at 2,178.0p, Croda International, up 60.0p at 2,525.0p, Howden Joinery, up 19.0p at 855.5p and ICG, up 42.0p at 2,192.0p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Phoenix Group, down 51.0p at 619.0p, Diageo, down 74.5p at 1,959.5p, Airtel Africa, down 5.6p at 215.6p, Haleon, down 6.7p at 359.0p and Unilever, down 73.0p at 4,696.0p.
Tuesday’s local corporate calendar has full-year results from homewares retailer Dunelm and half-year results from transport operator Mobico and technology group Computacenter.
The global economic calendar on Tuesday has French industrial production data and the British Retail Consortium retail sales monitor.
Later in the week, US inflation figures and the ECB interest rate decision, both on Thursday, will be closely watched.
Contributed by Alliance News
Peloton posted a worse-than-expected holiday quarter on Thursday after shoppers failed to shell out for its new AI-driven product line and turned away from higher subscription prices.
The connected fitness company missed Wall Street’s estimates on the top and bottom lines and fell short of its own internal sales targets in the three months ended Dec. 31 – typically the strongest for Peloton’s hardware revenue.
The company said it expects sluggish sales to continue in the current quarter. Peloton forecasts revenue between $605 million and $625 million, below expectations of $638 million, according to LSEG.
The weak results, coupled with soft guidance, are the first clues investors have that Peloton’s product overhaul may not be the sales driver the company hoped it would be. Peloton’s stock dropped as much as 13% in premarket trading following the results.
The revamped assortment, which came with artificial intelligence-powered tracking cameras, speakers, 360-degree swivel screens and hands-free control, was designed to grow sales and bring in new customers. But Peloton’s results show demand has been sluggish.
While Peloton’s top line might be disappointing to investors, the company is still making gains in improving its profitability. Over the holiday quarter, the company generated $81 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, better than the $73 million analysts had expected, according to StreetAccount.
After it announced plans to lay off 11% of its staff last week, the company expects to generate between $120 million and $135 million in adjusted EBITDA in the current quarter, better than the $119 million analysts had expected, according to StreetAccount.
It raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance to between $450 million and $500 million, up from a prior range of between $425 million and $475 million.
That’s welcome news to investors because it shows Peloton was able to innovate its product line without draining profitability.
Also on Thursday, the company announced CFO Liz Coddington is leaving Peloton to “pursue an opportunity outside the industry.” She’s staying on through March as the company searches for its next finance chief.
Here’s how Peloton did in its fiscal second quarter compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Loss per share: 9 cents vs. 6 cents expected
- Revenue: $657 million vs. $674 million expected
The company’s net loss for the quarter was $38.8 million, or 9 cents per share, a significant improvement from the $92 million, or 24 cents per share, it lost in the year ago period.
Sales fell to $656.5 million, down about 3% from $673.9 million a year earlier.
Since Peter Stern took over as Peloton’s CEO, he’s worked to generate new revenue streams and build on the company’s progress of improving its profitability.
The revamped product assortment was one of his first big moments as CEO and included new prices for both subscriptions and hardware. Despite higher prices, revenue for both hardware and subscription came in lower than expected, indicating unit sales have been weak.
Hardware sales drove $244 million in revenue during the quarter while subscriptions saw $413 million in sales, both below expectations of $253 million and $424 million, respectively, according to StreetAccount.
In a statement, Stern focused on the company’s profitability improvements and said he’s seeing “positive momentum” across the business.
“Our second quarter represented the most substantial period of innovation at Peloton since our founding. At the same time, our financial performance demonstrated our continued operational discipline, resulting in 39% year-over-year growth in Adjusted EBITDA and reducing Net Debt by 52% year-over-year, proving we can simultaneously innovate and increase our profitability,” said Stern. “Our subscription base is highly committed, our integrated Commercial Business Unit is growing and well-positioned to continue doing so, and Member engagement with Peloton IQ is encouraging.”
Telecoms giant BT has reported a significant slowdown in customer losses, signalling a potential stabilisation within the fiercely competitive broadband market.
The group revealed it shed 210,000 broadband customers during the final three months of 2025.
This figure proved less severe than market expectations, which had predicted losses exceeding 230,000.
Consequently, BT has adjusted its full-year projection for Openreach fixed-line broadband customer losses downwards, now forecasting 850,000, an improvement from its earlier estimate of 900,000.
Simultaneously, the company experienced a notable surge in demand for full-fibre coverage, successfully adding 571,000 new customers in the quarter.
Openreach has contended with customer attrition in recent years, largely due to the rise of low-priced competitors, often termed “retail altnets,” including providers like CityFibre.
However, chief executive Allison Kirkby informed the Press Association that this competitive pressure is now “abating” as BT continues to expand its full-fibre infrastructure across the country.
She said: “We’re building further and faster across the country than anybody else, because we’re getting into the areas where we didn’t previously have fibre.
“Now we have two-thirds of the country on fibre and we’re seeing reduced competition, so the consumer demand is there.”
The telecoms giant reported that revenues fell by 4 per cent to £5 billion in the quarter to December 31 due to service revenue declines.
It was also impacted by lower equipment revenues, largely linked to weakness in handsets, and divestments.
Adjusted UK service revenues fell by 2 per cent to £3.8 billion for the quarter.
Meanwhile, pre-tax profits fell to £183 million for the quarter, compared with £427 million a year earlier, after being hit by £214 million of losses related to its sports joint venture behind TNT Sports.
It runs the joint venture alongside US media giant Warner Bros Discovery, which has been at the centre of a bidding war between rivals Netflix and Paramount Skydance.
BT stressed it was still on track to meet its financial guidance for the current year.
Ms Kirkby said: “BT continues to deliver on its strategy – building and connecting the UK to the best next-generation networks at record pace, while accelerating our transformation.
“Our network leadership strengthened further in the quarter, with full-fibre broadband now reaching more than 21 million homes and businesses, and our 5G+ network accessible to 69 per cent of the population.
“Openreach achieved record full-fibre connections and our consumer division again added customers in broadband, mobile and TV.”
Hyundai i20 Price Cut Details: Hyundai Motor India has made the i20 more affordable by cutting prices for several variants. Now the premium hatchback is more accessible to buyers with a starting price of Rs 5.99 lakh (ex-showroom). Earlier, the entry price was Rs 6.86 lakh. That is a big drop for a car in this segment.
Official Statement
Commenting on the announcement, Sunil Moolchandani, National Sales Head, HMIL, said, “With the new starting price of Rs 5,99,000, we are making the i20 experience even more compelling, accessible and desirable for customers. This reflects our commitment to offering value-driven mobility solutions.”
New base variant
The i20 lineup now starts from the Era variant, priced at Rs 5,99,000 (ex-showroom). The variant comes equipped with 6 airbags, digital instrument cluster, front and rear skid plates, body-colour ORVMs and door handles, Type-C USB charger and telescopic steering.
Hyundai has also reduced prices for the mid-level trims. The i20 Magna Executive now costs Rs 6,73,900, compared to Rs 6,86,865 earlier. The i20 Magna is priced at Rs 6,99,900, down from Rs 7,12,385. All prices are ex-showroom.
Hyundai i20 Magna Executive features
The Magna Executive variant comes equipped with a digital cluster, front and rear skid plates, shark fin antenna, Highline Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), automatic headlamps, telescopic steering, keyless entry, electrically adjustable ORVM and steering wheel with audio & Bluetooth controls.
Hyundai i20 Magna features
Building on this, the Hyundai i20 Magna variant further enhances the premium quotient with features such as an electric sunroof, LED DRLs, rear AC vents and front armrest with storage.
Hyundai is also offering a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system as a dealer-installed option. It supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and comes with a rear camera. This package costs Rs 14,999 and includes a 3-year warranty on the screen.
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