London open: FTSE nudges lower in quiet trade; IPF surges on takeover

(Sharecast News) - London stocks nudged lower in early trade on Monday at the start of what was set to be a quiet few sessions in the usual lull between Christmas and New Year.

At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 9,865.06.

The Ukraine conflict was in focus after US President Donald Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Florida over the weekend. Trump said progress was made but "thorny issues" remained.

On the macro front, there were no UK data points due, but in the US, pending home sales for November and the Dallas Fed manufacturing index for December will be released at 1500 GMT and 1530 GMT, respectively.

Corporate news was unsurprisingly scarce but precious metals miner Fresnillo shot to the top of the FTSE 100 as gold prices were on track for their biggest yearly gain since 1979. Gold miner Hochschild Mining also rose.

International Personal Finance surged after saying it had accepted a takeover offer from BasePoint Capital in a deal worth �543m. IPF shareholders will get 235p a share in cash, a 31% premium to the closing price when talks between the two specialist lenders started in July.

Chair Stuart Sinclair said: "The IPF board has been considering its options to ensure that the market value better reflects the business's opportunities and prospects, having consistently traded at a substantial discount to comparable international businesses over the past ten years.

"Whilst the board continues to believe in the strategy and long-term prospects of IPF on a standalone basis, we recognise that the acquisition allows IPF shareholders to monetise their entire investment for cash at a fair price. We believe that the business will benefit from BasePoint's ownership and its commitment to fulfil IPF's purpose of building a better world through financial inclusion."

Elsewhere, Hargreaves Lansdown said three of its five "shares to watch in 2026" were Marks & Spencer, Novo Nordisk and Nvidia.

Darren Nathan, head of equity research at HL, said clothing and homeware retailer M&S goes into 2026 looking to rebuild after a tough year.

"A cyberattack hit online sales, mainly in Fashion, Home & Beauty, but bosses expect systems to be back to normal by spring," he noted. "The Food division keeps winning customers, and if spending on digital and margins pays off, profits could bounce back."

Nathan said Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk had a rough 2025 as supply was tight, rivals pushed harder, and pricing came under pressure in diabetes and obesity care.

"Even so, demand is still huge," he said. "More factory capacity, stronger action against illegal copy drugs and the recent approval of its oral weightloss pill could lift confidence."

Finally, he said US tech giant Nvidia remains a key name in the AI buildout. "Competition is rising, and some big buyers want more than one supplier, but the firm's fast pace of new chips and strong position in advanced computing keep it central to big tech spending."

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,865.06 -0.06%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,328.08 0.06%

techMARK (TASX) 7,797.57 -0.24%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Fresnillo (FRES) 3,300.00p 3.13%

CRH (CDI) (CRH) 9,514.00p 1.86%

Glencore (GLEN) 399.20p 1.24%

Convatec Group (CTEC) 240.20p 0.92%

Anglo American (AAL) 3,036.00p 0.80%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,249.00p 0.78%

GSK (GSK) 1,819.50p 0.78%

AstraZeneca (AZN) 13,776.00p 0.75%

Mondi (MNDI) 898.20p 0.70%

Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 44.63p 0.62%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

BT Group (BT.A) 181.85p -1.60%

British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,159.00p -1.33%

BAE Systems (BA.) 1,694.50p -0.99%

Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,249.00p -0.87%

ICG (ICG) 2,026.00p -0.78%

Beazley (BEZ) 832.00p -0.78%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,141.50p -0.70%

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 10,440.00p -0.67%

Melrose Industries (MRO) 582.40p -0.61%

HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 1,168.80p -0.56%

FTSE 250 - Risers

International Personal Finance (IPF) 233.50p 6.14%

Dr. Martens (DOCS) 78.80p 4.72%

Senior (SNR) 199.60p 3.63%

Hilton Food Group (HFG) 515.00p 3.21%

AJ Bell (AJB) 453.00p 3.19%

Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 119.60p 2.40%

RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd (RTW) 2.21p 2.31%

Templeton Emerging Markets Inv Trust (TEM) 235.00p 2.17%

Pennon Group (PNN) 532.50p 2.01%

Wickes Group (WIX) 240.00p 1.91%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 1,030.00p -4.63%

W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 98.20p -3.73%

Carnival (CCL) 2,243.00p -3.03%

Hays (HAS) 53.10p -2.03%

Zigup (ZIG) 371.50p -1.85%

Clarkson (CKN) 3,720.00p -1.85%

RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,690.00p -1.65%

Frasers Group (FRAS) 659.50p -1.57%

Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 93.05p -1.53%

VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 463.00p -1.49%