{"id":132152,"title":"February opens with pressure on FTSE 100 as rally reverses","publisher":"Share Talk","author":"sharetalk","published":"2026-02-02T07:37:02+00:00","modified":"2026-02-02T07:37:02+00:00","canonical_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/february-opens-with-pressure-on-ftse-100-as-rally-reverses/","markdown_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/february-opens-with-pressure-on-ftse-100-as-rally-reverses.md","json_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/february-opens-with-pressure-on-ftse-100-as-rally-reverses.json","category":"Blogs","categories":["Blogs","Technology","Technology, Media & Telecoms"],"tags":["Denmark","Endeavour Mining","Fed","Federal Reserve","Finland","FRANCE","FTSE 100","GERMANY","Glencore","Greenland plan","mining stocks","Nasdaq Composite","NATO alliance","Netherlands","Norway","S&P 500","Sweden","UK","United States","Wall Street"],"featured_image":"https://i0.wp.com/www.share-talk.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/FTSE-100-31-oct-scaled.webp?fit=1200%2C900&quality=80&ssl=1","format":"news","language":"en-GB","content":"Stocks in London are set to open sharply lower on Monday as investors digest violent losses across precious metals markets.\n\nFutures point to the **FTSE 100** opening 73.2 points lower, down 0.7% at 10,150.34. The index closed Friday up 0.5% at 10,223.54. The FTSE 100 had gained 272 points over January and notched a series of fresh intraday highs, but that momentum now looks set to reverse.\n\nSterling weakened to $1.3670 early Monday from $1.3719 at Friday’s London close, while the euro slipped to $1.1851 from $1.1881. Against the yen, the dollar firmed to ¥154.63.\n\nThe pressure is coming from a sharp unwind in commodities. **Gold** is down more than 7% at around $4,536 an ounce, **silver** has slumped 12% to $74.30, **copper** is 4.7% lower at $5.64 per pound, while** Brent crude** has fallen 4.5% to $66.20 a barrel. **Natural gas, platinum, lithium** and other metals are also trading sharply lower.\n\nCrypto markets are offering little shelter. **Bitcoin** has dropped 2.3% to $76,281, while **Ethereum** is down 7.6%, underscoring the continued correlation with broader risk sentiment.\n\nIn the US, a partial government shutdown began after Congress failed to pass a 2026 budget before the midnight deadline, although disruption is expected to be limited with lawmakers set to revisit the issue early this week. Talks broke down amid political fallout following the killing of two protesters in Minneapolis by federal immigration agents.\n\nUS President **Donald Trump** meanwhile said he would “welcome” Chinese investment in Venezuela’s oil sector as the country looks to revive production following the removal of Nicolás Maduro.\n\nWall Street ended Friday in the red, with the **Dow Jones Industrial Average** down 0.4%, the **S&P 500** off 0.4% and the **Nasdaq Composite** sliding 0.9%.\n\n**Asian markets** were also under heavy pressure. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.2%, China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 2.4%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 3.2% and Australia’s ASX 200 lost 1.0%."}