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Stock prices in London opened higher on Thursday after US President Donald Trump said he will no longer impose additional tariffs on European countries; meanwhile UK government debt increased less than anticipated in December. ‘On the issue of Greenland, the details of the agreement...matter little; which is just as well, as specifics are thin on the ground at this stage,’ commented Pepperstone’s Michael Brown. ‘What does matter, for markets, is that the threat of 10% tariffs on various European nations has been unwound, that the tail risk of a tit-for-tat tariff war has been eliminated...Participants can move on, and finally the hysteria and hyperbole that was doing the rounds over this matter can be put to bed.’ The FTSE 100 index opened up 71.91 points, 0.7%, at 10,210.00. The FTSE 250 was up 207.77 points, 0.9%, at 23,279.06, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.73 points, 0.2%, at 810.32. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.7% at 1,020.94, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.9% at 20,445.16, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 17,872.43. On the FTSE 100, Associated British Foods rose 1.3%. The Primark owner said revenue for the 16 weeks to January 3 was ‘in line’ with the previous year’s at actual currency, but down 0.9% at constant currency, at £6.76 billion. Like-for-like sales growth was 2.7% on-year. Retail revenue increased 4.2% at reported rates to £3.50 billion, while grocery revenue was flat at £1.39 billion. Primark sales rose 1% but declined 2.7% on a LfL basis. In smaller caps, Gulf Keystone Petroleum lost 3.8%, despite reporting production in line with guidance. The Kurdistan-focused oil producer’s gross average production was 41,560 barrels of oil per day for 2025, up 2.1% from 40,689 bopd in 2024 and towards the upper end of its tightened annual guidance range of 40,000 to 42,000 bopd. It said it expects 2026 to be a pivotal year, targeting gross average production guidance of 37,000 to 41,000 bopd. UK public sector net borrowing rose in December, the Office for National Statistics reported on Thursday. Net borrowing, the difference between total public sector spending and income, was £11.58 billion in December, below the FXStreet-cited market consensus estimate of £13.5 billion. The December total was above November’s net borrowing of £10.94 billion, which was revised downwards from £11.65 billion. It was down 38% from December 2024. In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 1.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 1.2%. The pound was quoted lower at $1.3413 early on Thursday in London, compared to $1.3437 at the equities close on Wednesday. The euro stood lower at $1.1686, against $1.1707. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JP¥158.80 compared to JP¥158.18. In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 1.7%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.1%, as was the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.8%. In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite all up 1.2%. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.24%, narrowing from 4.27%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.85%, narrowing from 4.88%. Brent oil was quoted at $64.97 a barrel early in London on Thursday, up from $64.82 late Wednesday. Gold was quoted lower at $4,826.19 an ounce against $4,833.66. Still to come on Thursday’s economic calendar, Ireland has producer price inflation. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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