London's FTSE 100 weighed down by miners, defence stocks; set for weekly gains
10/10/2025 12:12
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FTSE 100 down 0.1%, FTSE 250 down 0.2%
Precious metal miners retreat after rally
Ibstock slides after profit drop warning
Oct 10 (Reuters) - Britain's benchmark FTSE 100 fell for a second consecutive session on Friday as losses in heavyweight miners and industrials outweighed gains in consumer stocks.
The benchmark FTSE 100 .FTSE was down 0.1% at 9,500 as of 1045 GMT, but was set for a third consecutive week of gains. The mid-cap index .FTMC was heading toward a weekly loss, down 0.2% on Friday.
Industrial stocks were the biggest drag on the market, led by the aerospace and defence sector .FTNMX502010. It fell 2.2%.
Rolls-Royce RR.L fell 2.1%, the biggest weight on the FTSE 100, while BAE Systems BAES.L and Melrose MRON.L lost 2.3% and 2.4% respectively.
Resource-linked sectors also took a hit, with precious-metal miners .FTNMX551030 and energy stocks .FTNMX601010 down 2.9% and 0.9% respectively, tracking a dip in gold and oil prices. GOL/ O/R.
Endeavour Mining EDV.L and Fresnillo FRES.L were among the worst performers on the FTSE 100, as investors booked some profits after the recent rally.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said that investors crystallized gains often, but the question was if this money was going to be invested in new areas or taken off the market for bargain-hunting if the markets saw a correction.
The benchmark index was weighed down heavily by banks after HSBC's privatisation plans of a Hong Kong bank on Thursday, despite hitting record highs this week.
Weekly gains in base metal miners and utilities could keep the index in the positive territory for the week, if levels hold.
Ibstock IBST.L lost 5.7%, hitting its lowest level in over nine years, after the bricks and concrete maker warned that its annual profit would fall below expectations.
The stock was the worst performer on the domestically focussed FTSE 250 and weighed on the broader construction .FTNMX402020 sector, down 1.1%.
Conversely, consumer staples stocks saw gains, with beverages .FTNMX451010 companies up 1.5%, and personal care, drug and grocery .FTNMX452010 companies up 1%.
Among others, Hays HAYS.L was the top gainer on the FTSE 250, up 5.1% after the recruitment firm's first-quarter trading statement.
(Reporting by Avinash P and Purvi Agarwal; Editing by Shreya Biswas
)
((shreya.biswas@thomsonreuters.com;))
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