NEW YORK, Dec. 28, 2025, 7:52 a.m. ET — Market Closed
With U.S. stock markets shut for the weekend and London also dark until Monday, investors are heading into the final stretch of 2025 with an unusually familiar year-end cocktail: thin liquidity, big cross-asset moves, and a loud debate over whether London can finally turn “capital markets reform” into actual capital markets.
When the London Stock Exchange (LSE) reopens Monday, it will do so in a global backdrop where Wall Street is hovering near record territory, precious metals have been sprinting, and a growing chorus of market watchers is trying to map 2026’s winners before the calendar flips. [1]
Where the FTSE stands heading into Monday
The most recent London session—a shortened Christmas Eve trade—ended with the FTSE 100 down about 0.2%, reflecting low volumes and end-of-holiday positioning. Reuters noted investors trimmed exposure in heavyweight pharma names such as AstraZeneca and GSK, and the broader tone was muted as traders wound down risk ahead of the Christmas and Boxing Day closures. [2]
By the close, the FTSE 100 finished at 9,870.68, according to MarketWatch’s market wrap data. [3]
Despite the quiet finish to the last session, Reuters’ assessment of the bigger picture was striking: the index has been on track for a fifth straight year of gains, with a 20.7% advance in 2025, helped by strength in areas that loom large in London—miners, financials, and defence stocks. [4]
The weekend setup: Wall Street near highs, metals on the move
While the LSE was closed, U.S. markets wrapped up a post-Christmas Friday session that was nearly flat—more “catching our breath” than “new trend unlocked.” Reuters reported the S&P 500 finished at 6,929.94, with the Dow and Nasdaq also edging slightly lower on the day, as investors watched for signs of a “Santa Claus rally” and weighed year-end positioning. [5]
At the same time, Reuters’ global markets report underscored the other major cross-asset storyline: gold and silver surged to fresh records, supported by expectations for Fed rate cuts and safe-haven demand—moves that can matter disproportionately for London because of the FTSE’s resource-heavy composition. [6]
That combination—Wall Street steady-to-firm, and commodities (especially precious metals) behaving like they’ve had three espressos—sets up Monday as a potentially lively catch-up session for London-listed miners and diversified commodity names.
Trading hours and what “Monday’s reopen” actually means
For readers tracking the London session from New York: London Stock Exchange trading hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. London time. [7]
Late December can also include irregular schedules. LSE listings face an upcoming year-end half-day: the exchange’s business-day guidance indicates Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025 is a New Year’s holiday half-day, with the market closing process beginning around 12:30 p.m. London time. [8]
Forecasts and market strategy: 2026 optimism, with caveats
Investor mood going into the final trading days of 2025 has leaned upbeat—especially in the U.S., where the S&P 500 is near the psychologically important 7,000 threshold. In Reuters’ “Week Ahead” preview, Paul Nolte, senior wealth adviser and market strategist at Murphy & Sylvest Wealth Management, said momentum favored bulls, while also noting the market’s sensitivity to shocks. [9]
The same Reuters piece flagged the next set of catalysts that global equity desks will be juggling—particularly Federal Reserve meeting minutes and the ever-present question of the path for rates in 2026. Michael Reynolds, vice president of investment strategy at Glenmede, told Reuters the minutes could be useful in understanding the debate inside the Fed. [10]
For London investors, these U.S. signals matter because they influence global risk appetite, the dollar, and bond yields—variables that can quickly ripple into UK financials, multinationals, and commodity-linked shares.
On the calendar, Investopedia highlighted a holiday-shortened week ahead, with Fed minutes, jobless claims, and housing data among the scheduled releases as 2025 ends and 2026 begins. [11]
London’s bigger storyline: can 2026 bring an IPO revival?
If the FTSE’s 2025 performance was the market story, the London Stock Exchange’s strategic story has been about competitiveness—listings, liquidity, and whether London can stop watching ambitious companies flirt with New York.
In the past 24 hours, The Times argued that 2026 could be the right window for UK fintech champions—especially challenger banks such as Monzo and Starling—to consider listing in London, citing shifting market dynamics and London-specific incentives. [12]
Separately, City A.M. published a list of London IPO candidates to watch in 2026—ranging from names like Waterstones and Visma to mining and fintech possibilities—while emphasizing that 2025 was not a blockbuster IPO year for the City. [13]
Together, those pieces capture a theme investors will keep testing in 2026: London doesn’t just need “a few IPOs.” It needs IPO scale—the kind that pulls liquidity in behind it and rebuilds the gravitational pull that an exchange needs to stay relevant.
Policy tailwinds: stamp duty relief, and a new admissions regime
One reason the IPO conversation is heating up is that the UK is actively rewriting parts of the rulebook.
A key recent policy shift is a three-year stamp duty (SDRT) exemption for newly listed companies on a UK regulated market—what the government describes as UK Listing Relief. [14]
Reuters reported that Julia Hoggett, CEO of the London Stock Exchange, welcomed the move as an “important first step” as policymakers try to revive the UK’s struggling stock market. [15]
The policy detail matters: the UK government’s description says the exemption applies for a three-year period from listing and has effect for agreements to transfer made on or after 27 November 2025, aimed at supporting liquidity and valuations after IPO. [16]
Regulation is also changing. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set out final rules to implement the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations 2024 (POATRs) framework, with the new regime coming into force on Jan. 19, 2026—an effort the FCA says is designed to make it easier to raise capital and reduce costs in UK public markets. [17]
For investors, these aren’t abstract reforms: they influence where companies choose to list, how much friction there is in raising new equity, and whether London can rebuild the kind of pipeline that keeps an exchange healthy.
If you’re investing around the London Stock Exchange, here’s what to know before Monday’s session
1) Expect thin liquidity—and sharper moves than usual
Year-end trading can exaggerate price action because volumes are lighter and rebalancing flows can be chunky. Reuters emphasized that year-end portfolio adjustments can add volatility, especially when liquidity is limited. [18]
2) Watch commodities, especially precious metals
Gold and silver’s record-setting run into year-end is a direct “London relevant” signal because of the FTSE’s exposure to global miners and resource names. [19]
3) Don’t ignore U.S. macro catalysts—even for UK stocks
Fed minutes and U.S. labor-market signals can move yields and currencies, which can cascade into UK banks, exporters, and commodity shares. The week’s schedule includes Fed minutes and jobless claims, per Investopedia’s weekly preview. [20]
4) Know the ex-dividend names at the reopen
Dividend calendars can distort index moves. IG’s week-ahead note flags FTSE ex-dividend names for Dec. 29, including British American Tobacco and BT (FTSE 100), with additional names listed for Jan. 2. [21]
5) Keep an eye on the 2026 listings narrative—because policy is shifting
The stamp-duty relief for new listings and the FCA’s incoming admissions framework are precisely the sort of “slow boring plumbing” changes that can, over time, determine whether London gets more than just hopeful headlines about IPOs. [22]
Bottom line
Monday’s London reopen is less about discovering new information—most of the week’s big macro catalysts arrive later—and more about price discovery after a holiday break: how UK equities digest Wall Street’s near-record tone, how commodity moves filter into London’s sector mix, and whether the improving policy backdrop for listings begins to translate into concrete IPO momentum for 2026. [23]
References
1. www.reuters.com, 2. www.reuters.com, 3. www.marketwatch.com, 4. www.reuters.com, 5. www.reuters.com, 6. www.reuters.com, 7. www.londonstockexchange.com, 8. www.londonstockexchange.com, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. www.reuters.com, 11. www.investopedia.com, 12. www.thetimes.com, 13. www.cityam.com, 14. www.gov.uk, 15. www.reuters.com, 16. www.gov.uk, 17. www.fca.org.uk, 18. www.reuters.com, 19. www.reuters.com, 20. www.investopedia.com, 21. www.ig.com, 22. www.reuters.com, 23. www.reuters.com
