british FTSE100 The index on Friday surpassed the symbolic 10,000 points for the first time, extending its gains after a bumper 2025 harvest.
The FTSE 100 index, home to Britain’s most valuable blue-chip companies, started the year’s first trading day firmly in positive territory, trading up more than 1% at 10,034 points as of 8:58 a.m. London time (3:58 a.m. ET).
Analysts told CNBC late last year that while the speed with which the FTSE 100 reached the 10,000-point mark was remarkable, investors should remain cautious.
“While passing through a large index round is psychologically important, the fundamentals for the rally must be solid so that the new level sets a floor for the index, rather than acting as a ceiling,” said Toni Meadows, head of investments at BRI Wealth Management.
pan-european Stocks 600 Meanwhile, the index rose 0.6%, with most sectors and major exchanges in the green. Mining stocks were among the top gainers, rising about 0.9%.
The move comes as investors returned from the New Year’s Day holiday on Thursday with impressive annual gains.
of Stocks 600 Led by a surge in bank stocks and regional defense spending, the index rose nearly 16% in 2025, marking its third consecutive year of gains.
Looking at individual stocks, shares in Danish energy group Orsted rose 5.5% after the world’s largest offshore wind developer announced it would seek a court injunction to challenge the U.S. government’s suspension of the lease on its Revolution Wind joint venture.
In other regions, precious metals continued their upward trend from last year. In early European time, spot gold prices rose 1.8% to $4,391.32 an ounce, while spot silver prices rose more than 4.5% to $74.44 an ounce.
Gold and silver posted their best annual performance last year since 1979, supported by a number of factors, including the impact of U.S. interest rate cuts, tariff tensions, and strong demand from exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and central banks.
In Asia-Pacific trade, markets including Japan and mainland China remained closed for holidays, while South Korea’s Kospi rose to a new record.
Meanwhile, US stock futures rose in early European hours. S&P futures, Nasdaq 100 futures and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up at least 0.3% in recent days.
—CNBC’s Chloe Taylor contributed to this report.
