London, January 6, 2026, 09:54 GMT — Regular session
- FTSE 100 rose about 0.6% and hovered near record levels above 10,000.
- Next jumped after lifting its annual profit outlook again; Tesco and Sainsbury’s gained on fresh grocery data.
- Traders are watching Tesco and Marks & Spencer updates on Jan. 8, Sainsbury’s on Jan. 9, and UK inflation on Jan. 21.
Britain’s FTSE 100 pushed further into record territory on Tuesday, extending its move above the 10,000 mark as a profit upgrade from Next and gains in heavyweight energy names buoyed London stocks. The blue-chip index was up about 0.6% at 10,061 and earlier hit 10,066.68.
That keeps the benchmark close to Monday’s first close above 10,000, a psychological level that many investors treat as a test of momentum. The index finished Monday up 0.5% at 10,004.57, with Reuters pointing to commodity-linked sectors and expectations of Bank of England easing as key supports.
Strategists have also warmed to European equities. Goldman Sachs raised its 12-month FTSE 100 forecast to 10,400 and said, “Valuation is supported by strong global growth and falling interest rates in the U.S.”
Next set the tone for consumer-facing stocks, lifting its profit forecast for the year to Jan. 31 to 1.15 billion pounds after full-price sales rose 10.6% in the nine weeks to Dec. 27. Shares rose 3.1%.
The retailer struck a cautious note on the year ahead, saying “continuing pressures on employment will likely filter through into the consumer economy,” and it expects profit growth to slow to 4.5% in 2026/27. “While we expect the excellent Next to continue to do better than most, this tough backdrop may make future upgrades harder to come by,” Shore Capital analyst David Hughes said.
Supermarkets were also in focus after Worldpanel by Numerator said grocery sales rose 3.8% year-on-year to 13.8 billion pounds in the four weeks to Dec. 28, while inflation eased to 4.3%. Ocado shares rose as much as 8.5%, while Tesco gained 1.7% and Sainsbury’s added 1.6%; Tesco’s market share rose 20 basis points — 0.2 percentage point — to 28.7%, Worldpanel said.
Elsewhere, Prudential rose about 1.4% after it launched a $1.2 billion share buyback, a company-funded purchase of its own shares that reduces the share count when the stock is cancelled. Chief executive Anil Wadhwani said: “I am pleased with the progress we are making in executing our strategy.”
Energy and mining helped keep the index bid. BP climbed about 2% and Shell rose 1.7%, while Glencore added just over 1%; JD Sports fell 6.4% and Marks & Spencer slipped about 1.5%.
The risk for bulls is that the next wave of trading statements shows discounting is intensifying, or that inflation proves sticky enough to force markets to rethink the path for rate cuts — a key pillar of the recent rally. Next’s warning on employment pressures and slower profit growth underscores how quickly sentiment can turn if consumer demand falters.
Next up, investors will look to Tesco and Marks & Spencer on Jan. 8 for fresh reads on Christmas demand, followed by Sainsbury’s on Jan. 9, with UK inflation data due on Jan. 21.
