London’s stock market has opened slightly higher, though there is still little sign of the traditional “Santa rally” in the City.
The FTSE 100 index is up 10 points, or 0.1%, at 9,876, edging closer to its record high of 9,930 set in mid-November.
Mining stocks are leading the early risers, with precious metals producer Fresnillo up 2.6%, Anglo American gaining 1.7% and copper miner Antofagasta also rising 1.7%.
The move follows a weaker session on Wall Street on Monday, the first of the final trading days of 2025. All three major US indices retreated, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing 0.5% lower, the S&P 500 down 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite slipping 0.5%. Losses were led by large-cap technology stocks, with Nvidia and Tesla both falling more than 1.2%.
In Asia, Japan’s stock market has closed 2025 at its highest year-end level on record. The benchmark Nikkei 225 finished above the 50,000 mark on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, ending the day down 187.44 points, or 0.37%, at 50,339.48.
Despite the modest daily decline, the Nikkei has risen by 10,444.94 points this year, a gain of 26.18%. Stocks have been buoyed in recent months by optimism that Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, will pursue higher government spending to stimulate the economy. She attended the traditional ceremony marking the end of the trading year today.
Oil prices edged higher on Monday, led by a 2.4% rise in U.S. benchmark crude, which settled at $58.08 a barrel. However, momentum faded overnight, with both Brent and WTI trading slightly lower in early dealings on Tuesday.
Gold and silver prices slid sharply amid turbulence in precious metal markets, with silver posting its steepest one-day decline since the Covid pandemic.
Spot silver dropped 11% on Monday to around $72 (£53.36) an ounce, after briefly surging to a fresh record high near $84 earlier in the session. The sell-off spilled over into gold, which fell to about $4,332 an ounce. Despite the drop, gold is still up roughly 65% this year, compared with silver’s far larger gains.
