London midday: Stocks stay down as miners, oil giants retreat; US data eyed

7th Jan 2026 10:59

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still in the red by midday on Wednesday following a record close the previous day, with miners and oil giants under the cosh, as investors eyed the latest ADP and JOLTS reports ahead of Friday's non-farm payrolls.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.5% at 10,069.14. On Tuesday, the index closed up 1.3% at a fresh record high of 10,132.02, setting its third closing record in as many days.

Oil prices fell after US President Donald Trump said Venezuela will be "turning over" up to 50 million barrels of oil to the US to be sold at its market price. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the US will use the proceeds "to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!".

Investors were also considering Trump's plans for Greenland, after the White House said on Tuesday that the president is discussing options for acquiring the territory, including potential use of the US army.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The FTSE 100 retreated from yesterday's record high amid murmurings about the fate of Greenland and lower oil and precious metals prices.

"As well as pledging to turn over between 30 and 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to the US following the weekend strikes on the country, prompting concern about crude oversupply and pressuring prices, President Trump is looking at options to acquire Greenland - with military action apparently not ruled out.

"For now, the market doesn't appear to be too concerned that an attack will materialise, something Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen has warned would spell the end of Nato.

"A modest retreat in gold and silver, traditional havens, also suggests investors are remaining sanguine for the time being.

"The FTSE 100's outsized weighting towards energy and precious metal prices acted as a drag on the performance of the index."

On home shores, a survey out earlier showed the construction downturn eased slightly in December, though the sector still experienced sharp falls in housing, commercial and civil engineering activity.

The S&P Global UK construction purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 40.1 over the final month of 2025, from a five-year low of 39.4 in November. This was the 12th straight month below the neutral 50-point level - which separates contraction from growth 0 and the second-lowest reading since May 2020.

Civil engineering was the weakest-performing sub-sector of construction, with the activity index at just 32.9 in December, though slightly up from November. However, housing activity (33.5) and commercial construction (42.0) recorded their steepest rates of decline since May 2020.

On a brighter note, business activity expectations rebounded to a five-month high, with 37% of purchasing managers predicting a rise in output levels over the coming year.

The survey pointed to new work in the utilities sector, specifically related investment in water and energy infrastructure, was cited by a number firms, while improving domestic economic conditions are also expected to boost activity over 2026.

Nevertheless, as business activity continues to fall, employment levels across the sector still saw "relatively sharp reductions", the report said.

"UK construction companies once again reported challenging business conditions and falling workloads in December, but the speed of the downturn moderated from the five-and-a-half-year record seen in November," said Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

"Many firms cited subdued demand and fragile client confidence. Despite a lifting of Budget-related uncertainty, delayed spending decisions were still cited as contributing to weak sales pipelines at the close of the year."

Looking ahead to the rest of the day, attention will turn to the US ADP report for December due at 1315 GMT, while the November JOLTS report at 1500 GMT will also be eyed. Both have the potential to shape market expectations ahead of Friday's payrolls.

In equity markets, miners Antofagasta and Anglo American fell, along with precious metals miner Fresnillo, which took a hit as gold and silver prices eased.

BP and Shell gushed lower in tandem with oil prices, while NatWest fell after a downgrade to 'equalweight' at Barclays. Hikma was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'underweight' by the same outfit.

On the upside, housebuilders and REITS were the top performers, with Barratt Redrow, Persimmon, Berkeley, Taylor Wimpey, Bellway, Segro, LondonMetric, LandSecurities, British Land, Great Portland and Derwent London all higher amid falling UK gilt yields.

GPE was also in focus after agreeing to buy a building from the City of London Corporation for £51m, boosting its West End portfolio.

Vodafone gained after Berenberg upgraded the stock to 'buy' from 'hold', saying it believes the company can now deliver sustainable free cash flow and dividend growth in the coming years.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,069.14 -0.53%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,810.06 0.08%

techMARK (TASX) 5,800.99 0.28%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 384.00p 3.03%

Persimmon (PSN) 1,390.50p 2.73%

Vodafone Group (VOD) 103.05p 2.54%

Kingfisher (KGF) 329.00p 2.36%

British Land Company (BLND) 413.60p 2.12%

LondonMetric Property (LMP) 192.90p 2.12%

SEGRO (SGRO) 733.60p 2.00%

Land Securities Group (LAND) 636.50p 1.92%

Relx plc (REL) 3,135.00p 1.85%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 338.40p 1.74%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,374.00p -4.74%

Fresnillo (FRES) 3,518.00p -4.35%

Shell (SHEL) 2,647.00p -3.64%

BP (BP.) 417.00p -3.44%

easyJet (EZJ) 504.60p -3.37%

NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 638.60p -3.33%

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 132.15p -3.22%

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,320.50p -2.90%

Anglo American (AAL) 3,163.00p -2.89%

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 16,140.00p -2.77%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 726.00p 4.16%

Ocado Group (OCDO) 273.90p 3.79%

Great Portland Estates (GPE) 327.50p 3.64%

Derwent London (DLN) 1,831.00p 3.21%

Primary Health Properties (PHP) 100.50p 2.87%

Genus (GNS) 2,635.00p 2.33%

Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 108.15p 2.32%

Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 759.50p 2.15%

Workspace Group (WKP) 407.00p 2.01%

Vistry Group (VTY) 670.60p 1.91%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Pan African Resources (PAF) 120.60p -6.51%

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,255.00p -4.56%

Carnival (CCL) 2,322.00p -3.49%

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 303.70p -3.46%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 508.00p -3.15%

Energean (ENOG) 879.50p -3.14%

CMC Markets (CMCX) 317.00p -2.76%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 227.60p -2.40%

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 151.80p -2.32%

Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 266.50p -2.20%