Miners Salvage FTSE Gain: Weekly Recap and Week Ahead
UK EQUITIES · WEEKEND EDITION
Weekly Recap + Week Ahead
Miners carried the FTSE 100 to a small weekly gain; mid-caps still broke a five-week winning run.
MARKET CLOSED
Saturday · 22 Aug 2026 · 08:47 BST
Regime Large-cap resilience, narrow commodity lift
Primary risk Rates, inflation and Middle East headlines
What moved the week
Latest completed week
Gold and copper rose into Friday as the dollar weakened. Antofagasta gained 5.4% and Endeavour Mining 4.1%, leading the blue-chip index.
August flash services PMI rose to 52.8, a six-month high; manufacturing eased to 51.5. July retail sales fell 0.5% month on month.
Middle East risk and rising global borrowing costs kept the week volatile. The FTSE 250 failed to match Friday’s large-cap recovery.
Consequential movers
Friday close
| Gamma CommsWaterland talks | +11.6% |
| AntofagastaMetals rally | +5.4% |
| Endeavour MiningGold strength | +4.1% |
| HuntingProfit forecast cut | −14.5% |
Cross-asset tells
21 Aug snapshots
- GBPFourth straight weekly riseRate-hike pricing and dollar weakness
- MetalsGold and copper higherDirect support for London miners
- GiltsLong-end pressure persistsFiscal and global bond-market sensitivity
Week Ahead
24–28 Aug · scheduled
LSE reopens
Watch whether miners retain leadership and whether mid-caps repair the weekly break.
Chesnara interim results
Analyst presentation follows the scheduled release.
Prudential half-year results
London announcement; analyst Q&A scheduled for 09:30 BST.
Rates and geopolitics
Track gilt yields, sterling and metal prices against inflation and Middle East headlines.
Metals stay firm, sterling avoids a sharp surge and resilient services data broadens gains beyond mega-caps.
Long yields rise again, oil-driven inflation risk builds and the FTSE 250’s weekly reversal deepens.
FTSE 100: 10,750–10,817 zone; GBP/USD near 1.366; FTSE 250 participation; Antofagasta follow-through.
