The FTSE 100 opened higher on Wednesday, gaining 0.26% in early trade to 10,171.30, supported by strength in industrials, mining, and select defensives. The advance came despite mixed global cues, with US equities ending lower overnight and crude oil prices easing after a multi-session rally.
Endeavour Mining rose 2.48% to £4,210, tracking renewed strength in precious metals as gold hovered near record highs and silver surged sharply on safe-haven demand.
Diploma climbed 2.32% to £5,730 after reporting strong first-quarter organic revenue growth of 14%, reinforcing confidence in its decentralised distribution model.
SSE rose 2.22% to £2,300 as investors rotated into defensive names amid macro uncertainty.
Croda International gained 2.10% to £2,772, while Howden Joinery added 1.98% to £850.50.
On the downside, BP shares have fallen £3.5 to £433.4 after the oil giant said fourth quarter results on 10 February will include impairments worth between $4 billion and £5 billion.
Berkeley Group fell 2.31% to £3,890, while Reckitt Benckiser declined 0.45% to £6,162, and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners fell 0.31% to £6,520.
Pearson said revenues from its virtual learning division jumped 20% during a strong end to its financial year.
Underlying sales across the group increased to 8% in Q4 2025, resulting in a 4% improvement across the year.
Virtual learning sales increased 8% over the year, aided by a 13% increase in 2025/26 academic year enrolments in the fall semester.
Prudential said former HSBC director Douglas Flint is to succeed Shriti Vadera as chair of its board. He is expected to join as a non-executive director in March.
He spent over two decades at HSBC, serving as group finance director from 1995 to 2010 and then as group chair from 2010 until 2017. Speaking about the Pru’s transformation from a global insurance and asset management company, Chief Executive Anil Wadhwani said, "Douglas brings extremely valuable expertise to the board and his deep knowledge of Asia is particularly important for the company.”
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average last night fell 0.8% after JPMorgan Chase shares dropped 4% in the wake of the banking giant’s quarterly results. The S&P 500 lost 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.1%.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 gained over 1% to nearly 54,400.