FTSE 100 closes at record high

The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed up 0.5% at 10,004.57 points, while the domestically focused mid-cap index gained 0.8% to hit its highest since late October

The UK’s FTSE 100 closed above the 10,000 mark for the first time on Monday, supported by gains in precious metal miners and in defence stocks.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 – which first hit the symbolic mark during trading on Friday – closed up 0.5% at 10,004.57 points, while the domestically focused mid-cap index gained 0.8% to hit its highest since late October.

The London benchmark’s new highs came off the back of a strong 2025 where it outperformed Europe’s STOXX 600 and the U.S. S&P 500 primarily due to strong gains in commodity-linked sectors and expectations of more monetary policy easing by the Bank of England.

Monday’s moves were broadly in line with European peers, with the STOXX 600 and the S&P 500 up nearly 1% each.

Safe havens such as gold and silver soared. An index tracking precious metal miners -which was among the top sector performers in 2025 – rose by 4.6%.

Geopolitical uncertainty also lifted aerospace and defence stocks by 3.8%, with BAE Systems and Babcock International up more than 5% each, while Chemring gained 4.1%.

Among individual stocks, Ashmore closed 6.7% higher, though well off its highs. The fund manager of so-called emerging markets holds Venezuelan debt that rallied following developments in the country.

Online auction operator Auction Technology climbed 25% after the company rejected several buyout proposals from top shareholder FitzWalter Capital, saying they significantly undervalue the company.

Bunzl dropped 1% after brokerage Exane BNP Paribas downgraded its rating on the business supplies distributor to “neutral” from “outperform”.