London, February 2, 2026, 10:57 GMT — Regular session
- FTSE 100 inches up 0.1% in late morning, with defensive stocks cushioning a drop in miners
- FTSE 250 slipped 0.4%, trailing the blue chips as mid-caps took the hit
- Commodity volatility remains elevated as investors turn their attention to the Bank of England on Thursday
London shares held steady Monday, the FTSE 100 inching up 0.1% to 10,235.50 by 1057 GMT. InterContinental Hotels climbed 2.4%, Unilever added 2.2%. On the downside, Endeavour Mining dropped 4.8%, Fresnillo down 4.4%.
Commodity markets tumbled again after U.S. President Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair, triggering a fresh wave of de-risking. Gold dropped 5%, silver fell over 7%, oil lost nearly 5%, and LME copper declined 3%. “We see it as a correction and a buying opportunity rather than a fundamental shift,” said Vivek Dhar, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Reuters
The selloff in precious metals sent shockwaves through markets. Global stocks dipped, and Wall Street futures turned downward as some traders offloaded other holdings to make up for losses. On top of that, CME hiked margins for certain gold and silver futures — the cash required to maintain a position. “There’s been a massive retail frenzy getting into these markets,” Ole Hansen, Saxo Bank’s head of commodity strategy, said. Reuters
Mid-caps slipped further. The FTSE 250 dropped 0.4% to 23,165.43. Auction Technology Group fell 7.0%, Ocado slid 5.5%, yet Crest Nicholson climbed 2.8% and ITV added 2.2%.
3i Infrastructure revealed it will write down its £212 million stake in German fibre firm DNS:NET to zero in its March net asset value, citing sector financing troubles. Discoverie Group, the electronics manufacturer, posted a 1% organic sales rise for the quarter ending Dec. 31. Defence stocks dipped after Prime Minister Keir Starmer restated his call for UK participation in the EU’s €150 billion defence funding scheme.
UK manufacturing kicked off the year on a stronger note. S&P Global’s manufacturing PMI, which tracks purchasing managers’ activity, climbed to 51.8 in January from 50.6 in December. New orders hit their highest level since February 2022. “UK manufacturing made a solid start to 2026,” said Rob Dobson, director at S&P Global Market Intelligence. Reuters
Housing data showed improvement as well. Nationwide reported a 0.3% price increase in January, with prices up 1.0% compared to the previous year, bouncing back from a sluggish period in late 2025. Chief Economist Robert Gardner attributed the earlier slowdown to tax uncertainty but expects activity to pick up if affordability continues to get better.
Investors are focused on the Bank of England’s meeting Thursday, Feb. 5. Policymakers are widely expected to keep the Bank Rate steady at 3.75%, but all eyes will be on any changes in forward guidance after December’s inflation came in at 3.4%. “The timing of those rate cuts … is coming increasingly into question,” said Deutsche Bank’s Sanjay Raja, referencing potential cuts later this year. Reuters
Elsewhere in Europe, the STOXX 600 hovered flat by late morning, with gains in consumer staples balancing out losses in basic resources. Michael Field from Morningstar noted that the gold trade was “unwinding a little” and suggested one leg of the rally appeared over. Reuters
London’s calm, however, might not last. With the FTSE so heavily loaded with miners and oil giants, it risks getting hit hard if the metals sell-off sparks a wider forced-selling spree once higher margins kick in after the close.
If the BoE delivers a hawkish shock, or Friday brings a sharp rise in U.S. payrolls, the dollar would probably strengthen once more. That would spell trouble for commodities priced in dollars and for UK resource stocks linked to them.
Traders are focused on Thursday’s BoE decision and press conference at 1200 GMT. Then, all eyes turn to the U.S. January jobs report on Friday, Feb. 6, hoping for hints on the pace of global rate cuts and the next move in metals.
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