London stocks were mixed by midday on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 easing back from its recent record as a subdued UK construction PMI showed businesses continuing to report challenging conditions.
The FTSE 100 index was down 61.20 points, 0.6%, at 10,061.53. The FTSE 250 was up 0.32 points at 22,792.21, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.83 points, 0.2%, at 781.33.
On Tuesday, the index of London large-caps closed up 1.2% at 10,122.73, a record closing peak.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.7% at 1,009.72, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1 % at 19,849.54, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.3% at 17,930.63.
In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was slightly higher, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.6%.
Sterling was at $1.3499 at midday on Wednesday, marginally down from $1.3500 at the London equities close on Tuesday. The euro was slightly lower at $1.1688 from $1.1689. Against the yen, the dollar was lower at JP¥156.51 versus JP¥156.67.
‘The FTSE 100 retreated from yesterday’s record high amid murmurings about the fate of Greenland and lower oil and precious metals prices,’ said AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould.
‘As well as pledging to turn over between 30 and 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to the US following the weekend strikes on the country, prompting concern about crude oversupply and pressuring prices, President Trump is looking at options to acquire Greenland with military action apparently not ruled out,’ Mould said.
‘For now, the market doesn’t appear to be too concerned that an attack will materialise, something Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen has warned would spell the end of Nato.’
Brent oil was trading lower at $60.50 a barrel from $61.59 after those comments from US President Donald Trump.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the oil would be sold at market prices and that the proceeds would be controlled by him as president to ensure they were used ‘to benefit the people of Venezuela and the US.’
Trump added: ‘I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan, immediately. It will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the US.’
As a result, oil majors Shell and BP acted as a drag on the index and fell 3.5% and 3.4%, respectively.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould added: ‘The FTSE 100’s outsized weighting towards energy and precious metal prices acted as a drag on the performance of the index.’
UK construction firms experienced another sharp drop in activity in December, but the rate of decline eased, according to survey results published by S&P Global.
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global UK construction purchasing managers’ index rose to 40.1 points in December from 39.4 in November, but was below the expected 42.3 points.
The PMI remained below the 50.0 neutral mark separating growth from contraction for the 12th consecutive month, with its second-lowest reading since May 2020.
Tim Moore, S&P Global Market Intelligence’s economics director, commented: ‘UK construction companies once again reported challenging business conditions and falling workloads in December, but the speed of the downturn moderated from the five-and-a-half-year record seen in November. Many firms cited subdued demand and fragile client confidence.’
Elsewhere, eurozone inflation eased slightly at the end of 2025, with the annual rate falling to 2.0% in December from 2.1% in November, according to a flash estimate published by Eurostat.
The figure came in line with the FXStreet-cited consensus and would be within the European Central Bank’s 2% inflation target.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices in the euro area rose by an estimated 0.2% in December.
Stocks in New York were called to open mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called slightly higher, the S&P 500 index down 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite 0.2% lower.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury was at 4.14% at midday on Wednesday, narrowed from 4.20% on Tuesday. The yield on the 30-year was at 4.83%, slimmed from 4.88%.
In London, Vodafone climbed 2.6%.
Berenberg raised its rating on the Berkshire, England-based telecommunications company to ’buy’ from ’hold’ and increased its price target on the stock to 119 pence from 82p.
Ocado shares led the way on the FTSE 250 index and climbed 4.2%.
Shares in the retailer continued to rise after Worldpanel by Numerator data on Tuesday showed that Ocado Retail, a joint venture of Ocado and Marks & Spencer, was the fastest growing UK grocer, with sales increasing by 15% over the 12 weeks to December 28 compared to the same period a year ago, and accounting for 2.1% of the market.
On the AIM market, Galantas Gold shares more than doubled.
The firm said it has agreed to buy a 100% ownership interest in the Andacollo Oro gold project, located in the Coquimbo region of central Chile.
The project is a past-producing, large-scale open pit heap leach gold operation with existing infrastructure, permits and historical technical data.
Galantas said the acquisition represents a ‘significant strategic step’.
‘This transaction represents a clear step-change in the scale and profile of Galantas. The acquisition of the Andacollo Oro gold project fundamentally repositions the company, adding a large-scale, past-producing gold asset with existing infrastructure, permits, and a deep technical database in one of Chile’s most established mining districts,’ said Chief Executive Officer Mario Stifano.
Engage XR shares dropped 31%.
The Waterford, Ireland-based virtual reality technology company said it expects to report revenue of €1.9 million for 2025, down from €3.4 million, due to delays in contracts being signed and lower than expected enterprise sales and renewals during the year.
It expects to report an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation loss of €2.4 million, narrowed from €4.0 million a year ago, as it focused on ‘operational efficiencies and strong cost control’.
‘Overall, 2025 was another challenging year for the company across multiple fronts due to continued headwinds, especially from the erosion of the enterprise client renewals. The board recognises the need to deliver improved performance for our shareholders over the long term and therefore as a board we will continue to explore initiatives to deliver on this objective,’ said Chief Executive Officer David Whelan.
Gold was down at $4,449.00 an ounce at midday on Wednesday from $4,485.16 late Tuesday.
Still to come on Wednesday’s economic calendar is the ISM services PMI in the US, along with ADP unemployment data and the JOLTS job vacancies report.
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