Gold and oil prices today rose amid continued pressure on the US dollar.
The precious metal set a new record above $5250 an ounce, while Brent Crude earlier set a four-month high.
The FTSE 100 index drifted after the S&P 500 index rallied to a new peak last night.
FTSE 100 Live Wednesday
- Dollar decline continues
- Pets at Home shares rally
- Boohoo owner ups guidance
Market update: FTSE 100 lower despite oil and retail progress, Burberry off 2%
10:13 , Graeme EvansDollar weakness dented the FTSE 100 index today as big overseas earners including GSK and Experian offset gains by oil and retail stocks.
London’s top flight surrendered initial progress to stand 0.3% or 29.95 points lower at 10,177.85, whereas the domestic-focused FTSE 250 index held its ground.
The dollar’s lowest level in four years dragged multinationals lower as GSK lost 2% or 36.5p to 1826p, Experian dipped 47p to 2738p and hotels group IHG fell 1.7p to 134.3p.
Burberry lost 2% or 27.5p to 1142.5p at the bottom of the FTSE 100, with the luxury goods group not helped by a negative reaction to results by LVMH.
The dollar’s decline helped lift gold to $5278 an ounce, meaning Endeavour Mining shares topped the FTSE 100 for another session after a 3% rise.
BP and Shell added 1% after the price of Brent Crude traded at four-month high, although the benchmark later slipped back towards $67.15 a barrel.
Retail stocks were also in demand as Marks & Spencer rose 6p to 371.3p and B&Q owner Kingfisher lifted 3.3p to 334.9p.
The UK rotation helped Persimmon to improve 10.5p to 1433.5p while fellow builder Barratt Redrow put on 2.8p at 390.7p.
In the FTSE 250 index, Pets at Home rallied 10.8p to 211.2p amid relief over the unchanged full-year guidance in its third quarter update.
Marston's hails resilient festive trading, shares drop
09:34 , Graeme EvansMarston’s, which runs an estate of more than 1300 pubs across the UK, today said like-for-like sales rose 4% over the 17 weeks to January 24.
This included 5.6% over five key Christmas trading dates, having told shareholders in November that Christmas bookings were up 11% year-on-year.
Boss Justin Platt stressed the company has seen “resilient” like-for-like sales, while trading has also been boosted by investment in the group’s venues.
Shares dropped by 10% on the back of the update, down 6.8p to 62.1p.
Travelodge braced for significant rise in business rates bill
09:02 , Graeme EvansTravelodge today said recent Government policies have made trading conditions “more challenging” after the sector missed out on fresh business rates relief.
Chief executive Jo Boydell said: “Higher rates and a lack of bespoke support, together with wider regulatory cost increases, sends the message that the Government does not understand the economic value that our sector delivers.”
Travelodge said its business rates bill is set to increase from £38 million to £50 million a year in 2026, with “further significant rises” in the following years as transitional relief measures are phased out.
The 625-strong hotel business reported that group revenues increased by 0.7% to £1.04 billion in 2025. This was supported by a “good” performance in the final quarter of the year, which saw revenues lift by 4.3% to £261 million.
Boohoo owner lifts earnings guidance
08:48 , Graeme EvansThe owner of Boohoo and Debenhams today upped its annual earnings outlook and scrapped plans to sell off the PrettyLittleThing brand.
The Debenhams Group, which was renamed last year from Boohoo, now expects underlying earnings of £50 million for the year to February 28, up from previous guidance of around £45 million and the £41.6 million reported in 2024-25.
The group added it was “particularly pleased” with the revival plan at PrettyLittleThing and its improvement in profitability.
The AIM-listed shares today rose 8% or 1.95p to 25.75p.
Oil and mining stocks support FTSE 100, GSK and Astra lower
08:29 , Graeme EvansBP and Shell shares have risen 1% after the price of Brent Crude today traded at its highest level in four months.
Gains of 2% for miners Antofagasta and Anglo American also offered support to the FTSE 100 index, which stood 12.05 points higher at 10,219.85.
Burberry remains under pressure after falling another 3% or 40p to 1130p, while GSK and AstraZeneca have dropped 26.5p to 1836p and 174p to 13,706p respectively.
British Land slipped 3.8p to 406.2p after it announced a cash and shares offer for Life Science REIT in a deal worth about £150 million.
In the FTSE 250 index, Pets at Home rose 2% or 5p to 205.4p following the release of the retailer’s in-line third quarter update.
Trump comfortable with dollar decline
08:20 , Graeme EvansPresident Trump last night said he is relaxed about the recent reverse for the US dollar, which has dropped 3.5% against a basket of currencies in the past two weeks.
A weaker currency is positive for the competitiveness of US goods exports, but also brings higher import costs that squeeze margins and hurt consumer purchasing power.
Peel Hunt said Trump’s unpredictable approach to policy, including his efforts to put pressure on the Federal Reserve for rate cuts, has undermined confidence in the greenback and added to worries over a global de-dollarisation trend.
The bank said: “What matters is the pace of the depreciation.
“Markets will be able to adjust to a gradual weakening, but sudden large drops that coincide with spikes in US Treasury yields would be a sign of capital flight from the US – and that would be a problem for global risk markets as well as the US economy.”
Stock markets shrug off FX moves, oil price rallies
07:54 , Graeme EvansBrent Crude oil is at a four-month high of $67.61 a barrel, having rallied from $60 in the period since early January.
Yesterday’s 3% rise reflected heightened speculation over potential US action against Iran, as well as the ongoing weakness of the US dollar.
Rising demand for non-dollar assets has also helped gold to near $5300 an ounce.
IG said the four-year low for the dollar index was due to US policy unpredictability, concerns over Federal Reserve independence and signals that Washington may tolerate a weaker currency.
It added that stock markets have so far shrugged off the foreign exchange movements.
IG said: “Apart from the Dow, US stocks closed at record highs ahead of mega-cap earnings, while Asian markets were mixed, with Hong Kong equities rallying strongly despite the turbulence in currency markets.”
Jobless rate among young Londoners at nine-year high
07:38 , Graeme EvansUnemployment among young Londoners has hit a nine-year high, according to official figures.
They show the jobless rate in the capital among 16 to 24-year-olds has risen to 18.6% on average over a year.
In total, 88,000 Londoners in this age group were unemployed on average over the 12 months to last September, a rise of 11,000 in a year.
The last time the unemployment rate in the 16 to 24-year-old age group in the city was above 18.6% was nine years ago when it was 19.4%, excluding the Covid pandemic.
Vet industry set for major overhaul
07:22 , Graeme EvansVets will have to publish price lists for common treatments and disclose if they are independent or part of a chain under plans for a major overhaul of the industry.
Under government proposals aimed at helping pet owners understand what they are paying for and avoid unexpected costs, vets must be transparent about treatment options and pricing to increase competition between practices.
The proposals follow the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) finding that fees have risen at almost twice the rate of inflation, with pet owners not being given enough information about their vet and the prices of treatments.
Pets at Home retail revenues fall, sticks to guidance
07:14 , Graeme EvansPets at Home today said revenues edged 0.8% higher to £472 million in the 12 weeks to 1 January, boosted by growth of 5% in its veterinary business.
Retail revenues fell 1.1%, although the company said this represented a sequential improvement after positive volume growth across food and accessories.
The company, which issued a profit warning in September, said it expects to deliver full-year results in line with the City consensus.
Former Waitrose managing director James Bailey is due to take over as chief executive at the end of March.
Interim executive chair Ian Burke said the company’s turnaround efforts have included reducing the price of over 1000 products by an average of 12%.
He added: "I'm pleased to report continued strong performance in our Vet business and sequential improvement in Retail, as we continue to implement our retail turnaround.”
Shares rose 4% or 8.9p to 209.3p following the update.
Gold above $5250 an ounce, Hang Seng index up 2%
07:00 , Graeme EvansThe price of gold today traded above $5250 an ounce for the first time after the precious metal benefited from further dollar weakness.
The dollar index is its weakest in four years, while the pound traded above $1.38 for the highest level since September 2021.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average last night fell but the S&P 500 rose 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite rallied 0.9% ahead of tonight’s tech sector results and the latest policy decision of the US Federal Reserve.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 0.6% or 58.95 points at 10,207.80 last night and is seen opening at a broadly similar level at today’s opening bell.
The Nikkei 225 recovered from a poor start to stand slightly higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is up by more than 2%.
