Weekly review
By Josh White
Date: Friday 02 Jan 2026
(Sharecast News) - The FTSE 100 ended the New Year-truncated week up 61.94 points, or 0.63%, closing at 9,951.14 on Friday.
Equity view
Vision-based monitoring technology group Seeing Machines has announced the formation of a dedicated team to support increasing demand from the autonomous driving sector. The London-listed, Australia-based outfit has established Future Mobility Group, a team that will seek out new commercial opportunities as self-driving vehicle programmes across the world begin to scale, working with customers to embed its driver and occupant monitoring system tech.
Video games firm Frontier Developments said on Friday that Jo Cooke had formally joined the board as chief executive on 1 January. The AIM-listed group added that former CEO Jonny Watts would remain on the board until 31 May in order to support an orderly handover.
Tap Global shares were in the red on Friday even after it reported a sharp increase in revenues and an improvement in underlying profitability for the year ended 30 June, alongside continued user growth and regulatory progress, as the digital finance platform completed its first full year as an AIM-listed company. The AIM-traded group said revenues rose 31% year on year to £3.48m from £2.65m, supported by a broader cryptocurrency offering and product enhancements across its app.
Landore Resources said on Friday that trading in its shares on AIM would remain suspended while work continued to finalise an updated mineral resource estimate for its flagship BAM Gold Project and associated deposits. The AIM-traded company said progress was ongoing on the mineral resource estimate covering the BAM project as well as the B4-7 and VW deposits, following its previous announcement on 11 December.
Jubilee Metals announced the completed sale of its South African chrome and platinum group metals operations on Friday, marking a strategic shift to focus exclusively on its copper business in Zambia. The company said the disposal of its South African Chrome and PGM Operations to One Chrome had now completed following the satisfaction of all conditions.
Harbour Energy has been appointed operator of the Zama oil project offshore Mexico after an agreement between the project's partners, the company said on Wednesday. The Zama oil field, discovered in 2017 and successfully appraised in 2018 and 2019, is estimated to contain approximately 750 million barrels of oil equivalent of gross recoverable resources. Harbour added that the next step will be to complete engineering and design work in 2026 ahead of a final investment decision.
Modular housing group Eco Buildings said on Tuesday that its strategic joint venture in Senegal with G2 Invest was now expected to receive an initial €1.75m deposit in mid‑February 2026, marking a key milestone in progressing the partnership. Eco Buildings also said it was continuing to secure additional residential construction projects in Senegal, with the scale of confirmed commitments set to determine the final configuration and number of production lines deployed under the venture.
Provexis reported a fall in interim revenue and a wider underlying operating loss for the six months ended 30 September on Wednesday, reflecting temporary supply disruption, while highlighting strong post-period demand and progress across its strategic partnerships. The AIM-traded functional food ingredients group, which develops and licenses the Fruitflow heart-health ingredient, posted total revenue of £0.36m for the period, down from £0.79m a year earlier.
Artemis Resources said in an update on Wednesday that technical director Julian Hanna would step down from the board and transition into a consultancy role as project manager for the Cassowary Project, effective 1 January. The AIM and ASX-listed explorer said Hanna would focus on advancing the Cassowary Project and the recently-announced Sharon Dam copper project under an earn-in and joint venture with Red Metal, located around 50 kilometres south of the Cassowary Intrusion within the Madura Copper Exploration Belt.
CleanTech Lithium said in on Wednesday that it plans to submit an application for a special lithium operating contract in Chile in the near term, targeting a potential award in the second quarter of 2026, as it highlighted progress on resources, processing technology and stakeholder engagement in an end-of-year update from chief executive Ignacio Mehech. The AIM-traded lithium developer said Chile's government had opened a streamlined process for new applications covering the Laguna Verde salar, with submissions due by the end of January.
Lion Finance Group said Mikheil Gomarteli, deputy CEO and head of payments at its Bank of Georgia subsidiary, was stepping down from executive roles on January 1 after 28 years with the business. Gomarteli will remain in a non-executive role across the group's various subsidiaries. Former bank executive Levan Kobakhidze has rejoined as Bank of Georgia's new head of payments business after two years at Wells Fargo in New York.
Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust has hit back at demands by Saba Capital Management to replace its entire board, calling for the major stakeholder to be open about its intentions. Over the past year, Saba, which owns just under 30% of EWIT, has been campaigning to remove all of EWIT's independent board directors and replace them with its own three US-based directors.
Grocery technology business Ocado announced on Tuesday that mutual exclusivity had now ended with retailers in the majority of markets where its technology was currently live, including the USA with Kroger. Ocado expected to roll off exclusivity arrangements by the end of the year in the majority of markets, enabling it to bring its "proven and much evolved technology offering" back to market in many of the largest grocery markets.
Octopus Energy has agreed to sell a stake of around $1bn in its Kraken technology arm to a syndicate of investors led by global investment firm D1 Capital Partners. New investors include Fidelity International, Durable Capital Partners and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, via its late stage growth business Teachers' Venture Growth.
British energy company Savannah Energy has said it has created a "strong platform" for 2026 after recent solid operational progress, with more projects expected to come on-stream early next year. Gross daily production averaged 19.1k barrels of oil equivalents per day over the first 11 months of 2025, down from 22.8kboepd the year before.
AIM-listed BATM Advanced Communications said on Monday that it appointed Gil Sharon as chairman of the board with effect from 25 December. Former chairman Dr. Gideon Chitayat will step down as a non-executive director on 1 January. The Israel-based company, which provides advanced network infrastructure, cybersecurity and diagnostic technologies, also said that Prof. Varda Shalev, an external director, has been appointed chair of the Audit Committee of the board.
Tooru said on Monday that it had made progress in building its platform over the year following the completion of its reverse takeover in May, as the AIM-traded health and wellness group reported momentum across its core brands and announced a refinancing alongside a board change. The company, formerly listed as RiverFort Global Opportunities, said it had been settling into its new structure and advancing its flagship brands, with a focus on brand investment alongside cost discipline.
Panthera Resources reported a wider interim loss for the six months ended 30 September on Monday, as it continued to advance arbitration proceedings linked to its Bhukia Gold Project while investing in exploration activity across its West African portfolio. The AIM-traded gold explorer and developer posted a net loss of $1.36m, or one cent per share, compared with a loss of $1.13m, or one cent per share, in the prior reporting period.
Metals One shares were rising on Monday morning, after it said its associate Lions Bay Resources had made an offer for the assets of the Vantage Goldfields Group in a potential step towards building a vertically-integrated gold business in South Africa. The AIM-traded critical and precious metals explorer and developer did caution, however, that the proposal remained conditional.
Corero Network Security said in an update on Monday that 2025 marked a turning point in the distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection market, as a rise in more subtle and persistent attacks exposed weaknesses in traditional defences and reinforced demand for always-on, adaptive mitigation. The AIM-traded company noted that even large technology providers experienced outages during the year, underlining how interconnected and vulnerable modern digital infrastructure has become.
Economic news
UK manufacturing showed further signs of recovery at the end of 2025, with output and new orders edging higher and overall activity expanding for a second consecutive month, according to S&P. The S&P Global UK manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 50.6 in December from 50.2 in November, marking a 15-month high and remaining above the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from contraction, although it fell short of the earlier flash estimate of 51.2.
House price growth in the UK fell to its lowest rate in 20 months in December, with the annual increase slowing significantly from the previous month, according to data from Nationwide on Friday. Nationwide's monthly house price index fell to 543.0 last month, down 0.4% from November's 545.2, with average prices easing to £271,068.
London had its strongest year for IPOs in 2025 since 2021, according to PwC's latest IPO Watch EMEA 2025. The London Stock Exchange saw £1.9bn raised from 11 IPOs this year. There was flurry of activity in the final quarter as fintech Shawbrook and food and drinks firm Princes Group priced their IPOs at the end of October for £348m and £400m, respectively.
The cautious consumer landscape is expected to continue into 2026, according to a survey released on Tuesday by KPMG. The accountancy firm's latest Consumer Pulse survey found that despite the majority of people continuing to feel financially secure, a combination of concern about the economy, household essential cost pressures, and discretionary spending caution will continue to limit overall spending.
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants said on Monday that it was planning to scrap remote exams as it looks to combat a rise in cheating. In an interview with the Financial Times, the accounting body's chief executive, Helen Brand, said it will end online exams from March. Candidates will be required to sit assessments in person unless there are exceptional circumstances.
International events
Manufacturing activity in the eurozone fell to a nine-month low as the pace of decline in new orders sped up and production was cut, a survey published on Friday revealed. The HCOB manufacturing PMI fell to 48.8 in December compared with November's 49.6, while the output index fell into contraction territory at 48.9 from 50.4 - a 10-month low. A mark above 50 indicates expansion.
Oil prices were trading more or less flat to start the new year on Friday after posting their biggest annual loss in five years in 2025, while silver extended its recent bullish run. Brent crude was down 0.4% at $60.68 a barrel, while WTI crude was 0.4% lower at $57.24/bbl.
Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a decelerated pace in the week ended 27 December, according to the Labor Department. Initial jobless claims fell by 16,000 week-on-week to a seasonally adjusted reading of 199,000, down from the prior week's upwardly revised reading of 215,000 and versus market forecasts for an increase to 220,000.
China's President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday that the country was on track to hit its growth target for this year. According to the official Xinhua News Agency, Xi told the country's top political advisory: "China's economy is forging ahead under pressure, moving toward innovation and quality, demonstrating strong resilience and vitality.
China's manufacturing sector returned to growth at the end of the year, according to figures released on Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics. The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 50.1 in December from 49.2 the month before, beating economists' expectations for a flat reading and coming in above the 50.0 mark that separates contraction from expansion.
Economic activity in the Chicago area picked up more than expected in December, according to data released on Tuesday. The MNI Chicago business barometer rose to 43.5 from 36.3 in November, coming in above expectations for a reading of 39.8. A reading above 50.0 indicates expansion, while a reading below signals contraction.
US home prices rose 1.4% year‑on‑year in October, according to the S&P/Case‑Shiller national home price index, up slightly from the 1.3% annual gain recorded in September. The figures continued to point to a sharp regional divergence, with Midwestern and Northeastern cities leading annual growth, while Sun Belt markets such as Tampa, Phoenix and Dallas remained under pressure. Sixteen of the 20 major metropolitan areas tracked by the index delivered month‑on‑month declines, as high mortgage rates continued to weigh on affordability and dampen price momentum.
US pending home sales unexpectedly surged in November, according to the National Association of Realtors, hitting their highest level since February 2023. Based on signed contracts, pending home sales rose 3.3% month-on-month, better than expectations for a softer 1% increase and October's upwardly revised 2.4% gain. On an annualised basis, pending home sales were up 2.6%.
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