London stocks opened higher on Thursday, clawing back some composure after political jitters surrounding Chancellor Rachel Reeves rocked markets the previous day.
The FTSE 100 rose 0.5% to 8,816.61, while the FTSE 250 gained 0.6% at 21,574.12. The AIM All-Share also advanced 0.6% to 772.50.
Reeves’s emotional appearance during PMQs spooked markets on Wednesday, with sterling and gilts tumbling amid questions over a £5 billion welfare U-turn-shaped hole in her fiscal plans. Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted the chancellor would be staying “for a very long time,” attributing her tears to a personal matter unrelated to policy.
Mkango Resources surged 49% after announcing a merger of subsidiaries that will see its rare earths unit list on Nasdaq under the name Mkango Rare Earths. The deal, valuing its stake at $400 million, puts the firm on a faster track to becoming a major player in the critical minerals space.
Alien Metals climbed 27% after defining a large new exploration target at its Hancock iron ore project in Western Australia, potentially tripling its known resource base.
Top laggard was Baltic Classifieds, down 11%, despite a rise in annual profit. A cautious outlook and murky FY26 guidance disappointed investors, with Jefferies warning growth is tracking below expectations.
Global sentiment was buoyed by a US–Vietnam trade agreement, which sent Nike and other consumer names higher and pushed the S&P 500 to another record close. However, the deal’s details, including a 20% tariff on Vietnamese exports and 40% on transshipped goods, raised questions about longer-term inflation risks.