London stocks eased back on Wednesday morning after the FTSE 100 brushed record territory, with trading thinned sharply ahead of an early close for the New Year break.
The FTSE 100 slipped 0.1%, while the FTSE 250 and AIM All-Share were both down 0.2%. Markets in London shut at 12:30 GMT, keeping volumes light and price moves contained.
Despite the modest pullback, it has been a strong year across the board. The FTSE 100 is up around 22% year to date, comfortably ahead of the FTSE 250’s 9% gain and AIM’s 6% rise.
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Fresnillo, the standout performer of 2025, led the fallers early on, down 2.3%. Even so, the precious metals miner remains more than five times higher over the year. Fellow gold producer Endeavour slipped 1.8%, but is still close to tripling in value since January.
Diageo offered some support, edging up 0.3%, though that does little to offset a bruising year that has seen the shares fall more than 35%.
Among smaller names, Digital 9 Infrastructure rose 0.9% after completing the sale of its Aqua Comms subsea fibre business for £34 million, above its June valuation. The company reiterated plans to return a portion of the proceeds to shareholders as part of its managed wind-down.
Overnight in the US, Wall Street closed slightly lower on Tuesday, with the Dow down 0.2%, the S&P 500 off 0.1% and the Nasdaq lower by 0.2%. All three indices remain firmly higher for the year.
Federal Reserve minutes released on Tuesday showed policymakers divided on how quickly to ease policy further, with some hinting at a pause after December’s quarter-point cut. Attention later on Wednesday turns to US jobless claims, which could shape expectations for the next move.