London midday: Stocks gain as Trump nominates Warsh as Fed chair

(Sharecast News) - London stocks had pushed into the black by midday on Friday after US President Donald Trump confirmed he was nominating former Fed governor Kevin Warsh as his pick for Federal Reserve chair.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 10,209.32.

Warsh served as Fed governor between 2006 and 2011. The US dollar was higher on the news, while silver and gold prices fell.

Gold futures on Comex were down 3.6% at $5,125.10, while silver was 11% lower at $101.78.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said Warsh is perceived as a more orthodox choice versus some of the other mooted names.

"He has previously served as a Fed governor and went up against Powell when he got the job of chair in 2017.

"The decline in US futures prices and uptick in the dollar reflect the thinking that Warsh won't be a marionette for the Trump administration. It implies the chances of aggressive rate cuts in 2026 regardless of the backdrop, something which Trump has not been shy in calling for, are slimmer."

Coatsworth said that whether Warsh will transform from a hawk to a dove thanks to external pressure "will only become clear over time".

"Some calm was restored to the UK market after yesterday's frenzied trading in commodities, although the mining sector was bearing the scars from the volatility in share price terms on Friday," he said.

"Copper, gold and silver have all beaten a hasty retreat from their all-time highs, in part thanks to the move higher in the dollar and after an extraordinary surge, both last year and in the first weeks of 2026.

"Traders will be watching closely to see if this is a short-term correction or a more pronounced reversal of the big rally in these metals over recent times."

On home shores, data from the Bank of England showed that net mortgage approvals for house purchases in December fell by 3,100 to 61,000. Meanwhile, net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals was unchanged when compared to November at �4.6bn.

In equity markets, credit-checking firm Experian gained as it announced the launch of a $1bn share buyback programme.

Banks were also on the rise, with Lloyds, Barclays and NatWest all higher.

AstraZeneca rose after saying it had expanded its weightmanagement pipeline, striking a strategic collaboration with China's CSPC Pharmaceuticals to develop a series of nextgeneration obesity and type2 diabetes therapies.

On the downside, telecoms and mobile money services provider Airtel Africa slid despite reporting a surge in quarterly earnings after it boosted coverage and customer numbers rose.

Precious metals miner Fresnillo and gold miners Hochschild and Endeavour all slumped as gold and silver prices fell.

Heavily-weighted mining stocks were in the red, with Antofagasta, Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Glencore among the worst performers on the FTSE 100.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,209.32 0.37%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,285.00 0.07%

techMARK (TASX) 5,921.57 0.22%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Experian (EXPN) 2,787.00p 3.41%

Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,245.00p 2.60%

Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 108.05p 2.47%

Diageo (DGE) 1,677.00p 2.38%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 418.00p 2.00%

Pearson (PSON) 962.60p 1.75%

Barclays (BARC) 487.90p 1.73%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 83.34p 1.71%

NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 664.00p 1.62%

Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 6,080.00p 1.47%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Airtel Africa (AAF) 315.20p -7.78%

Fresnillo (FRES) 3,740.00p -4.10%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,664.00p -3.22%

Mondi (MNDI) 850.40p -3.10%

Anglo American (AAL) 3,417.00p -2.37%

Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 46.60p -2.10%

3i Group (III) 3,369.00p -1.58%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,745.00p -1.52%

Glencore (GLEN) 500.30p -1.50%

Whitbread (WTB) 2,698.00p -1.39%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Helios Towers (HTWS) 174.40p 2.83%

Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited (BSIF) 72.30p 2.41%

Trainline (TRN) 207.40p 2.27%

Genus (GNS) 3,120.00p 2.13%

Carnival (CCL) 2,234.00p 2.01%

Man Group (EMG) 265.00p 2.00%

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 272.80p 1.94%

C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 111.40p 1.83%

Ashoka India Equity Investment Trust (AIE) 243.50p 1.67%

JPMorgan India Growth & Income (JIGI) 944.00p 1.61%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 105.80p -5.54%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 674.50p -4.87%

Pan African Resources (PAF) 137.00p -4.86%

BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 951.00p -4.52%

Endeavour Mining (EDV) 4,360.00p -3.50%

THG (THG) 37.74p -2.58%

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,400.00p -2.51%

HGCapital Trust (HGT) 460.50p -2.44%

Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 99.30p -2.07%

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 181.40p -2.05%