The FTSE 100 was in touching distance of the magic 10,000 mark on the final day of trading in 2025.
London’s blue-chip index edged into the green in early trading before trading down to 9,921.
Embattled drinks maker Diageo was leading the pack Wednesday morning with a rise of nearly one per cent.
The Guinness maker has suffered a tumultuous 2025, with stock down 36 per cent.
However, it looked as if it was set to turn a corner in November with the appointment of new chief executive Dave Lewis or ‘Drastic Dave’ – the former Tesco boss enlisted to steady the ship.
At 11am the stock had given up most of its gains with Vodafone taking its place at the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard.
Blue-chip pharma behemoth Astrazeneca was also moving higher Wednesday morning, with the stock jumping 0.4 per cent.
The market’s most valuable firm’s market cap has swelled to near £214bn this year, but after upgrading its listing on the other side of the Atlantic, the company’s primary listing no longer sits in London.
Miners hold the FTSE 100 back on the last trading day of the year
Mining stocks were holding the FTSE 100 back on the last trading day of the year.
The FTSE 350 mining index soared by over 222 per cent in 2025, driven by the surging price of precious metals amid geopolitical instability.
Fresnillo – which topped the index’s fallers on Wednesday morning at 2.5 per cent – enjoyed the largest year-long rally at a whopping 412 per cent.
The firm, which primarily operates in Mexico exploring, developing, and producing silver and gold, started the year with a stock price of 649.50p and ended at 3,300p.
“Could there be a fairytale ending to the year for London’s blue-chip index?” Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said.
Hewson added the index was “tantalisingly close” to its next milestone, “which at the start of the year seemed inconceivable”.
The FTSE 100 sank to lows of 7679.48p in April this year as President Donald Trump launched his ‘Liberation Day’ tariff offensive on the US’s trading partners, sending global markets into a tailspin.
“After that ‘Liberation Day’ dip, which now feels so long ago, European markets have delivered a strong annual performance,” Hewson said.
T and, in its rally after Trump lifted tariffs, posted a 16-day win streak.
Since the beginning of the year, the index has climbed over 20 per cent.