Must read: FTSE 100, oil, gold
ii’s head of investment rounds up the morning’s big news.
29th December 2025 09:06
by Victoria Scholar from interactive investor
GLOBAL MARKETS
With trading volumes predictably thin, the FTSE 100 has opened flat after closing modestly lower on Christmas Eve, with defence stocks proving a drag. This morning Fresnillo (LSE:FRES) is the top gainer while defence stocks like BAE Systems (LSE:BA.) continue to underperform.
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It has been an impressive year for the FTSE 100, gaining around 20%, outperforming Europe and the US, and is on track for its fifth consecutive annual gain.
Gold is under pressure as investors look to lock in profits before year-end after a very strong run.
Potential progress between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky have also dampened demand for precious metals. Silver has had a wild ride today, breaking above $80 earlier to hit a record high before pulling back. Silver’s gains have propelled Fresnillo shares to the top of the FTSE 100 this morning. The silver producer gained as much over 4%, hitting a new high.
Oil is staging gains, with WTI and Brent crude both up over 1% each, trading above $57 and $61 respectively, supported by Middle East tensions and US-Ukraine talks.
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Most Asian markets struggled overnight, with the Nikkei under pressure. The Bank of Japan said it sees the case for further hikes in its Summary of Opinions from its December meeting. The Kospi however outperformed with a 2.2% gain.
US futures are pointing flat after the S&P 500 hit an intraday all-time high on Friday. After the Liberation Day sell-off in April, the major US indices have enjoyed a remarkable recovery, on track to log very strong gains for the year with the Nasdaq Composite leading the charge thanks to AI-fuelled gains. However, concerns about overvaluations and an AI bubble look set to continue to dominate market chatter into next year.
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