London close: FTSE 100 erases early losses to hit another record

(Sharecast News) - London's Footsie managed to push into positive territory by the close of play, erasing earlier losses to hit another all-time high, helped by a resilient start on Wall Street as investors seemingly shrugged off rising tensions between the president and head of the Federal Reserve.

The FTSE 100, which slipped 0.3% early on, finished the day 0.16% higher at 10,140.70, topping Friday's record close of 10,124.60.

The export-heavy Footsie started the day in the red, weighed down by a stronger pound as the US dollar weakened on the back of an escalation in the public spat between Donald Trump and Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.

Powell said on Sunday that the Department of Justice had launched a criminal investigation into the $2.5bn renovation of the Fed's headquarters, and into his testimony about the project to the Senate banking committee in June last year.

"This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation," Powell said in a video message.

"This development raised concerns over the US dollar's reliability as a safe-haven currency, further unsettling global markets," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation. "However, US markets rebounded at the start of trading, boosting risk sentiment among UK investors and helping the FTSE 100 recover into positive territory by the close."

The weaker dollar sent gold and silver to new record highs, with gold surging 2.8% to $4,628.10 an ounce and silver up 8.4% at $86.125 an ounce by the close.

Miners jump as metals hit new records

Fresnillo, Endeavour, Glencore and Rio Tinto were putting in solid gains on the FTSE 100 as gold and silver prices hit new highs.

Sage Group was boosted by an upgrade to 'buy' from 'neutral' at UBS, while Pearson gained as Citi initiated coverage of the education publisher with a 'buy' rating. In contrast, Mondi was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'underweight' from 'equalweight' at Morgan Stanley.

On the downside, British Land fell 4% as it said chief executive Simon Carter was leaving after five years in the role to head up a pan-European logistics firm. Land Securities was also in the red.

Barclays slid 2% after US President Donald Trump called for a one-year 10% cap on credit card interest rates.

On the FTSE 250, shares in Oxford Nanopore Technologies surged 11% after full-year sales beat guidance in 2025. Updating on year-end trading, the business - a specialist in nanopore-based molecular sensing technology - said revenues were set to come in between �223m and �224m.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,140.70 0.16%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,023.25 -0.06%

techMARK (TASX) 5,848.04 0.03%