London, Jan 7, 2026, 10:57 GMT — Regular session
- FTSE 100 down 0.5% mid-morning, led lower by energy and precious-metal miners
- BP and Shell slide as oil prices fall on fresh U.S.-Venezuela supply headlines
- Investors rotate into defensive utilities and property shares after Tuesday’s record close
Britain’s FTSE 100 edged lower on Wednesday, with energy and precious-metal miners dragging after a run of record highs, while utilities and real estate stocks drew defensive bids. The blue-chip index was down 0.5% by 1010 GMT; BP fell 2.9% and Shell slid 2.2%, while Topps Tiles rose 1.5% after reporting a 3.7% rise in first-quarter revenue. “Small caps are clearly more attractively valued than large caps in the UK,” Joachim Klement, head of investment strategy at Panmure Liberum, wrote in a note. 1
The move comes a day after London shares logged another record close, lifted by healthcare heavyweights and retailer updates. The FTSE 100 jumped 1.4% on Tuesday, with AstraZeneca up 5% after announcing a strategic collaboration with Bostongene, while Next climbed 4.9% after raising its annual profit outlook again and Ocado surged 11.6% on a strong Christmas-quarter read from market researcher Worldpanel by Numerator. 2
A shift in the Venezuela narrative has also hit the UK benchmark’s commodity-sensitive core. Reuters reported the Trump administration said it had reached a deal for the United States to import up to $2 billion of Venezuelan crude and take delivery of up to 50 million barrels, a move that pushed oil prices down on expectations of higher supply; Venezuela has not confirmed the deal. 3
Domestically, investors are also weighing fresh signs of strain in the real economy. A construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey — where 50 separates growth from contraction — showed activity contracted for a 12th straight month in December, with the headline reading at 40.1; the housebuilding sub-index fell to 33.5. “UK construction companies once again reported challenging business conditions and falling workloads,” S&P Global Market Intelligence economics director Tim Moore said. 4
Price pressure remains the other side of the rate-cut debate. A separate PMI report showed the final UK services reading for December was revised down to 51.4 from a preliminary 52.1, while input costs and prices charged rose; the report also flagged a 4.1% rise in the minimum wage in April to £12.71 an hour. The Bank of England cut rates last month to 3.75%, and investors are pricing one or two quarter-point cuts in 2026. 5
Across Europe, a broader rally also paused after a run of record closes, with traders cautious on geopolitics and awaiting U.S. macro data. “Investors have generally looked past geopolitics in recent years and have been rewarded for doing so,” Richard Flax, chief investment officer at wealth manager Moneyfarm, said, as traders looked ahead to the U.S. JOLTS job openings report due later on Wednesday. 6
But the FTSE’s early-year momentum leaves it exposed to sharp swings in oil, gold and headline risk, especially with energy and miners still among the index’s heaviest weights. Weak domestic demand indicators also raise the risk that any shift in rate expectations hits UK-facing shares harder than the exporters that dominate the blue-chip gauge.
