UK Stock Market Today: FTSE 100 Drifts Lower as Mid-Caps Rebound Ahead of Budget

The UK stock market ended Monday, 24 November 2025, in a cautious mood as investors weighed growing hopes of a US rate cut against mounting nerves over Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first Budget on Wednesday.

The blue‑chip FTSE 100 finished almost flat, slipping just 0.05% to 9,534.91, while the more domestically focused FTSE 250 rose 0.23% to 21,411.58. The AIM All-Share also added around 0.2%, underscoring slightly better risk appetite further down the market-cap scale. ^[1]

Banks, gold miners, airlines and housebuilders all advanced, but gains were capped by sharp falls in defence stocks, utilities and consumer staples as traders rotated away from traditional “safety” plays.

Headline index moves on 24 November 2025

FTSE 100: down 0.05% at 9,534.91
FTSE 250: up 0.23% at 21,411.58
AIM All-Share: up 0.2% at 737.16 ^[2]

Reuters described the session as one where consumer staples and industrials “dragged” on the FTSE 100, while mid-caps staged a modest recovery after their longest losing streak in more than two years. ^[3]

Sharecast’s closing report painted a similar picture: London stocks traded higher for much of the day on the back of dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials, before giving up some gains into the close as attention swung back to the UK Budget. ^[4]

Budget countdown: fiscal jitters meet rate‑cut hopes

Reeves’ first Budget looms large

Markets are now firmly focused on Rachel Reeves’ Budget on Wednesday, which will set the fiscal tone for the coming years.

According to reporting from Reuters and Sharecast, investors increasingly expect tax increases running into the tens of billions of pounds, likely the second major tax-raising package since the 2024 election. Reeves has repeatedly signalled that income tax will be left alone, with the burden instead falling on a “range of other taxes” in an effort to keep bond markets calm while financing higher welfare and public‑service spending. ^[5]

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has urged the government to show “courage” over tax rises to restore fiscal credibility, even as businesses warn about the risk to investment. ^[6]

Sterling and gilts: braced for volatility

On the currency side, sterling has been grinding higher in the run-up to the Budget, rising for a fourth straight session on Tuesday and trading around $1.31. But the real story is volatility: one‑day implied volatility in the pound jumped close to 12%, up from below 2% earlier in the week, as traders rushed to hedge against another fiscal shock. ^[7]

In the bond market, 10‑year gilt yields remain anchored around the mid‑4% area, little changed in recent sessions but still elevated compared with the pre‑pandemic era. ^[8] That keeps pressure on rate‑sensitive sectors such as utilities, housebuilders and real estate, and helps explain why rallying banks and miners did not translate into a stronger FTSE 100 headline.

What the Bank of England survey tells us

Fresh data from the Bank of England’s Market Participants Survey, published earlier this month, shows that professional investors broadly expect Bank Rate to drift lower but remain restrictive over the next few years:

Median expectations put Bank Rate around 3.75% by December 2025, down from roughly 4% now.
By late 2026, the consensus clusters around 3.25–3.5%. ^[9]

That gradual easing profile, combined with today’s fiscal uncertainty, is one reason UK equities still trade at a steep discount to global peers – a theme that ran through Monday’s market commentary.

Sectors that moved the market

Banks: beneficiaries of rate‑cut optimism

Banking stocks were among the day’s winners. Reuters reported that the FTSE banking sub‑index climbed about 1%, helped by analysts at Morgan Stanley forecasting net interest income growth of roughly 4% for European lenders next year. ^[10]

Standard Chartered jumped about 3% after being upgraded to “overweight”.
Barclays rose just over 2% after being flagged as a top pick. ^[11]

These gains were supported by global risk‑on sentiment. In the US, the S&P 500 surged 1.5%, the Nasdaq leapt 2.7% and the Russell 2000 jumped 1.9% on Monday as traders priced in a growing chance of a December Fed rate cut. ^[12]

The Bank of England’s own stress tests of UK life insurers, highlighted in the Guardian’s live coverage, also suggested that large groups such as Aviva, Legal & General and Phoenix could withstand a “severe” market downturn, helping to underpin confidence in the broader financial sector. ^[13]

Miners and gold: Fresnillo steals the show

Gold‑linked names were the standout performers:

The precious metals sub‑index jumped nearly 6%, buoyed by firmer gold prices as lower‑rate bets gained traction.
Fresnillo rocketed about 9%, closing near £24.98 on heavy volume well above its 50‑day average, according to MarketWatch and Sharecast. ^[14]
Endeavour Mining and Hochschild Mining also added around 3–4%. ^[15]

Traders are increasingly treating UK‑listed gold miners as a hedge against both macro uncertainty and any potential mis‑step in Wednesday’s Budget.

In industrial mining, attention remained on the copper mega‑deal saga:

Australia’s BHP formally walked away from its latest attempt to acquire FTSE 100 miner Anglo American, just weeks before Anglo shareholders vote on a planned ~$60bn merger with Canada’s Teck Resources. ^[16]
Sharecast noted that Anglo American ended the session broadly flat, suggesting investors had largely priced in BHP’s withdrawal and are now focused on the Teck vote and longer‑term copper exposure. ^[17]

Housebuilders and property: tentative recovery

After an extended slump, UK housebuilders finally enjoyed a more upbeat session:

Reuters reported that the homebuilding sub‑index climbed after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a “constructive” outlook, citing improved fundamentals in parts of the sector.
Vistry Group gained around 4%, with Goldman singling it out alongside Barratt Redrow and Persimmon as preferred picks for exposure to affordable housing demand. ^[18]

While gilt yields remain elevated, Monday’s rally suggests investors are starting to look beyond the immediate rate backdrop and towards potential policy support – for example, planning reform or targeted housing measures – that Reeves might unveil.

Travel, leisure and airlines: benefitting from risk‑on mood

Travel and leisure stocks also advanced:

The sector index rose about 1.7%.
easyJet added around 3.6%, while International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) climbed nearly 2.8%, according to Sharecast and MarketWatch. ^[19]
On the FTSE 250, Wizz Air gained close to 3.8%. ^[20]

Lower‑for‑longer US rate expectations, still‑resilient travel demand and easing fuel‑price concerns all lent support to the space.

Defensives, staples and utilities: caught on the wrong side of rotation

Defensive areas of the market were firmly out of favour:

The aerospace and defence index fell about 1.7%, with BAE Systems down roughly 3.5% and Babcock off about 1.5%, as hopes for progress towards a peace framework in Ukraine hit defence valuations across Europe. ^[21]
Beverage stocks slipped around 1.8%, with Diageo down just over 2%.
The personal care, drug and grocery sub‑index lost about 1.2%, dragging Marks & Spencer more than 2.5% lower.
Utilities fell about 1.3%, with names like SSE and National Grid among the bigger laggards. ^[22]

MarketWatch data also showed B&M European Value Retail falling about 2.4%, underperforming an already soft session for retail. ^[23]

These moves came against a backdrop of weak UK retail sentiment: a CBI survey released Tuesday showed retailers’ confidence had slumped to its lowest level in 17 years, underlining the pressure on consumer‑facing names before new fiscal measures land. ^[24]

Corporate news shaping sentiment

Asda downgrade highlights retail stress

The Guardian’s live blog flagged a notable credit‑market development: Fitch downgraded Bellis Finco, Asda’s parent, to ‘B’ from ‘B+’ with a negative outlook, pushing the supermarket’s debt deeper into junk territory. ^[25]

Fitch cited:

An aggressive price‑cutting strategy to regain market share.
A £568m sale‑and‑leaseback transaction covering 24 stores and a distribution centre, which is expected to raise leverage and squeeze free cash flow through 2028. ^[26]

The downgrade underscores just how tight margins have become in UK food retail, even as headline inflation eases.

Unimetals liquidation and industrial undercurrents

The same Guardian coverage also reported that metals recycling firm Unimetals has filed for compulsory liquidation, putting around 650 jobs at risk. ^[27]

While not a FTSE‑listed giant, the story feeds into a broader narrative of industrial strain and consolidation in the UK mid‑cap and small‑cap space.

Blue‑chips on the move

Sharecast’s market‑close report highlighted several other notable stock stories on the day: ^[28]

AstraZeneca edged higher after announcing a $2bn investment to expand manufacturing facilities in Maryland, bolstering its global production footprint.
IMI ticked up after agreeing to sell its Truflo Marine unit to Fairbanks Morse Defense for an enterprise value of £225m.
Ferrexpo, the Ukraine‑based iron‑ore producer, surged nearly 20%, helped by improving sentiment towards Ukraine‑linked assets as peace‑talk rhetoric intensified.
On the FTSE 250, Trainline tumbled more than 6% after the UK government said rail fares in England will be frozen next year for the first time in three decades, a potential headwind to revenue growth.

Meanwhile, boutique and advertising names suffered: Reuters noted that S4 Capital and M&C Saatchi both fell by more than 8% after cutting their financial outlooks, dragging on the mid‑cap index. ^[29]

Retail investor flows: what people actually traded

On the interactive investor platform, Monday morning’s 10 most‑traded shares included: ^[30]

Rolls‑Royce Holdings
BAE Systems
Glencore
Legal & General Group
Lloyds Banking Group
Marks & Spencer
Smaller, more speculative names such as ImmuPharma and Eurasia Mining

The mix suggests retail traders were heavily focused on:

High‑beta cyclicals (Rolls‑Royce, Glencore),
Controversial or news‑driven defence (BAE Systems),
Income‑oriented financials (L&G, Lloyds), and
Volatile small‑cap pharma and mining plays.

That tilt mirrors the broader market’s rotation towards riskier assets, even as institutional investors remain wary ahead of the Budget.

Valuations: UK equities still look “too cheap”

Despite Monday’s modest gains in mid‑caps, the overarching theme remains the same: UK stocks are cheap, and they’ve been cheap for a long time.

A portfolio update from BlackRock Income & Growth Investment Trust (BRIG) described the UK stock market as “very depressed” in valuation terms versus other developed markets, with double‑digit discounts across multiple metrics. ^[31]
Bloomberg’s live “Markets Today” blog quoted Principal Asset Management’s Martin Frandsen arguing that UK equities continue to trade at a “material discount” to global peers. In his view, a genuinely pro‑business Budget could finally act as the “clearing event” that prompts investors to reassess just how undervalued UK stocks have become. ^[32]

So far, however, global investors have remained unconvinced: money has steadily flowed out of UK funds despite repeated bouts of “UK is cheap” marketing.

What to watch next

Heading into the rest of the week, UK equity investors are juggling three main storylines:

The Budget (Wednesday)
- Details on tax changes, welfare spending and any pro‑growth measures will determine whether UK assets are seen as investable bargains or cheap for a reason.
- Market reaction in gilts and sterling will be closely watched for signs of renewed fiscal stress or relief.
Central bank path
- Fed expectations have swung decisively toward a December rate cut, helping global equities and interest‑rate‑sensitive UK names. ^[33]
- The Bank of England is still expected to loosen policy much more gradually, but the Market Participants Survey shows an unmistakable downward trend in rate expectations. ^[34]
Sector‑specific catalysts
- Defence stocks will remain sensitive to headlines around Ukraine peace talks. ^[35]
- Housebuilders and real estate will react to any Budget‑related housing or planning announcements. ^[36]
- Retail and consumer stocks will be tested by the combination of weak CBI confidence data and Fitch’s warning shot at Asda’s balance sheet. ^[37]

For now, Monday’s session leaves the FTSE 100 hovering just below its recent highs, the FTSE 250 trying to break out of a mini‑slump, and almost everyone on the sidelines waiting to see whether Reeves’ Budget can finally shift the narrative around the UK market.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational and journalistic purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Always do your own research or consult a regulated financial adviser before making investment decisions.

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