(Sharecast News) - UK stocks fell for the second day on Friday as the heavyweight mining sector tracked commodity prices lower, while risk appetite was sapped by rising geopolitical uncertainty in the UK as Gilt yields climbed.
Trading volumes were also likely lower with the New York Stock Exchange closed for the Juneteenth US national holiday.
The FTSE 100 finished the session down 0.4% at 10,361.76, with falling metals prices hitting the blue-chip index given mining's heavy sectoral weighting.
"London's premier index is unable to catch a break. While the selling in oil names has eased just as the rout in oil has undergone a small reversal, the FTSE 100 is still under pressure thanks to the selling in miners, most notably that most volatile of commodities, silver and in its related mining stocks," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.
"The divergence between the FTSE and its US cousins is widening again, with the added spice of political drama to cloud the outlook for UK assets once more."
Oil prices stabilised after recent falls - Brent inched higher to $80.61 a barrel following the sudden drop from the $90 mark a week ago - trading at levels not seen since early March on reports that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed a ceasefire deal in Lebanon.
Also keeping a lid on crude prices was the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to tankers following the peace deal signed by Washington and Tehran earlier in the week.
Nevertheless, UK investors were keeping a close eye on politics closer to home after Andy Burnham won the Makerfield by-election, paving the way for a leadership challenge against Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Burnham, who could now trigger a leadership challenge as early as next week, will need the support of at least 81 Labour lawmakers.
The former Manchester mayor comfortably won the by-election, defeating Reform UK's Robert Kenyon and securing a seat in parliament. "Everyone knows that politics isn't working," he said in his acceptance speech. "Tonight could, just could, be the turning point."
The yield on a 10-year UK Gilt was up 7.6 basis points at 4.844% by the close in London, its highest in over a week, propped up by official data on Friday which showed that government borrowing rose more than expected in May.
Borrowing - the difference between total public sector spending and income - came in at 23.3bn, up 5.4bn on May 2025 and 5.6bn more than the 17.7bn forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Miners fall
Blue chip mining stocks were providing a big drag on the FTSE 100 as a strengthening US dollar hit metal prices. Gold, silver, copper and platinum prices were all firmly lower as the US dollar index - which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies - jumped to a one-year high following a hawkish outlook from the Federal Reserve this week.
As a result, Fresnillo, Antofagasta, Endeavour, Anglo American and Rio Tinto were among the worst performers on the Footsie.
Also under the cosh was Admiral after RBC Capital Markets downgraded the insurer to 'sector perform' from 'outperform' as it took a more cautious view ahead of first-half results in August.
Software-related stocks were on the rise, with Informa, Experian, Relx and Sage Group among the top performers, along with defence and aerospace firm Babcock ahead of its full-year results on Monday.
On the FTSE 250, PPHE Hotel Group slumped as it said Fattal Hotel Group's 2,200p-a-share offer would no longer go ahead due to opposition from one of its major shareholders. However, it also said it had received a separate earlystage approach from another party which was now being assessed.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,361.76 -0.36%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,200.73 -0.56%
techMARK (TASX) 5,830.33 -0.08%
FTSE 100 - Risers
BP (BP.) 503.80p 2.63%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,460.00p 1.46%
Informa (INF) 875.00p 1.32%
Experian (EXPN) 2,542.00p 1.32%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,046.00p 1.31%
Relx plc (REL) 2,377.00p 1.24%
The Sage Group (SGE) 812.60p 1.22%
Shell (SHEL) 2,993.50p 1.06%
M&G (MNG) 331.00p 1.04%
Diploma (DPLM) 7,200.00p 0.91%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 7,404.00p -4.81%
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,972.00p -4.65%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,254.00p -3.21%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 4,036.00p -3.19%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,430.00p -3.03%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,890.00p -2.63%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 7,394.00p -2.57%
Tesco (TSCO) 440.80p -2.56%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 471.00p -2.55%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 350.40p -2.12%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 654.50p 14.32%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 230.40p 3.41%
Renishaw (RSW) 5,215.00p 3.06%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 238.60p 2.84%
Chemring Group (CHG) 500.00p 2.59%
XPS Pensions Group (XPS) 317.00p 2.26%
Computacenter (CCC) 4,246.00p 2.07%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 358.00p 2.05%
Energean (ENOG) 697.00p 1.98%
Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 986.00p 1.75%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 1,684.00p -15.80%
Hays (HAS) 32.82p -6.28%
Pan African Resources (PAF) 106.40p -5.92%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 111.20p -5.68%
Ibstock (IBST) 90.35p -5.39%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 544.50p -4.97%
WH Smith (SMWH) 399.60p -4.90%
Genuit Group (GEN) 262.60p -4.44%
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 96.00p -3.90%
AEP Plantations (AEP) 1,538.00p -3.88%
36.43 (0.35%)
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