The FTSE 100 climbed 0.3% to around 10,400 on Monday, holding near record highs as a sharp rally in gold and silver prices lifted mining shares. Fresnillo, Endeavour, and Antofagasta each advanced more than 3%, while Glencore gained 1.5%. By contrast, NatWest slumped 4% after unveiling a £2.7 billion deal to acquire wealth manager Evelyn Partners.
Investors are now preparing for a busy week of corporate earnings and key economic data, including UK GDP figures and the latest US labour market and inflation reports. BP, AstraZeneca, and Barclays are due to publish results tomorrow, followed by British American Tobacco and LexisNexis on Thursday. NatWest will round out the week with its full-year results on Friday.
The market backdrop was further coloured by rising political uncertainty. Pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s leadership intensified after the resignation of his chief of staff in the wake of the Lord Peter Mandelson scandal, prompting renewed calls from within the Labour Party for him to step down.
