Weekly review
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Friday 09 Jan 2026
(Sharecast News) - The FTSE 100 ended up 0.8% on Friday at 10,124.60.
Equity view
Online auction operator Auction Technology said on Monday that it has rejected 11 unsolicited buyout proposals from its largest shareholder FitzWalter Capital. The most recent proposal received on 23 December 2025 at 360p per share in cash was rejected on the basis that it "fundamentally" undervalues the company, it said. The price represented a premium of about 33% to the closing share price on 2 January 2026.
High street retailer Next lifted full-year guidance on Tuesday, on the back of better-than-expected festive trading. In the nine weeks to 27 December, full-price sales rose 10.6% year-on-year, comfortably ahead of forecasts for a 7% improvement across the entire quarter. In the UK, sales rose 5.9%, while international sales soared 38.3%, far outstripping guidance for a 24.3% uplift. As a result, the company now expects total group sales in the year to 31 January to come in at £6.97bn, a 10.3% increase year-on-year. Pre-tax profits are expected to rise 13.7% to £1.15m. Next had previously guided for annual sales of £6.87bn and pre-tax profits of £1.14bn.
Rank Group on Tuesday said chief executive John O'Reilly had decided to retire after more than seven years in the job and would be replaced on an interim basis by chief financial officer Richard Harris.
Tile specialist Topps Tiles reported its fifth consecutive quarter of like-for-like sales growth on Wednesday. In the 13 weeks to 27 December, revenue excluding CTD - the tile business it bought in August 2024 - rose 3.7% year-on-year, outperforming the market. Revenue in the Topps Tiles brand grew 2.0% on a LFL basis, supported by a continued strong performance in trade and growth in the company's "Mission 365" strategic category extensions. This marked the fifth quarter in a row of LFL growth for the brand, helping to mitigate the impact of the continued cost inflationary environment, it said.
Greggs posted a rise in fourth-quarter sales on Thursday but said it expects flat profits this year amid subdued consumer confidence. The bakery chain said Q4 total sales jumped 7.4% on the year, with like-for-like sales in company-managed shops up 2.9%. Total sales for FY25 were £2.15bn, up 6.8% on 2024, with like-for-like sales in company-managed shops 2.4% higher.
Supermarket giant Tesco said it expects full-year earnings to be at the top end of forecasts despite a slowdown in underlying sales growth over the key Christmas selling season. Group like-for-like sales were up 2.4% over the six weeks to 3 January, easing from the 3.1% growth seen over the third quarter to 22 November and the 4.6% jump registered in the second quarter.
Energy major Shell warned on Thursday it expected to post a loss in its chemicals and products division in the fourth quarter, but left guidance for the rest of the business largely unchanged. Posting its fourth-quarter outlook, the blue chip said it expected the indicative chemicals margin to fall to $140 per tonne from $160 tonne in the previous three months, adding: "The chemicals sub-segment adjusted earnings are expected to be a significant loss, reflecting a non-cash deferred tax adjustment in a joint venture."
Associated British Foods cut its profit outlook on Thursday due to weaker performances at its Primark retail chain and US foods operations, sending shares in the conglomerate more than 11% lower. In the UK, Primark sales growth of 3% in the 16 weeks to January 3 included a like-for-like performance of around 1.7% "in a difficult clothing market, particularly over Christmas", the company said in a trading statement. However, in Continental Europe sales slumped by 5.7% as consumer confidence remained weak while a "volatile" US market also led to lower footfall at its stores, leading to a 2.7% fall in overall like-for-like sales with sales growth in the first half of 2026 now forecast to be in the low single digits.
Marks and Spencer Group left its full-year guidance unchanged on Thursday, after what it called "solid" Christmas trading. The high street bellwether saw like-for-like food sales rise 5.6% in the 13 weeks to 27 December, to £2.72bn. That helped offset a 2.9% decline in fashion, home and beauty, to £1.27bn. The division is continuing to recover from a major cyberattack earlier in 2025, although the retailer also acknowledged that high street footfall had been lower this year.
Miners Glencore and Rio Tinto confirmed on Friday that they are in preliminary talks about a possible combination of some or all of their businesses, which could include an all-share merger - a deal that would create the world's largest mining company. Responding to press speculation, Glencore said there is no certainty that the terms of any transaction or offer will be agreed, nor as to the terms or structure of any such transaction or offer, if agreed.
J Sainsbury said on Friday it remained on track to deliver annual retail profits of more than £1bn, following strong demand for food and drink in the run up to Christmas. The supermarket, the UK's second-largest after Tesco, saw grocery sales jump 5.1% in the six weeks to 3 January, and by 5.4% over the third quarter. However, shares in the blue chip came under pressure in morning trading after weak consumer confidence spending weighed on sales elsewhere in the group.
Economic news
UK mortgage approvals dipped in November 2025, while consumer borrowing rose, according to figures released on Monday by the Bank of England. The latest monthly Money and Credit report showed that mortgage approvals for house purchases fell to 64,530 from 65,010 in October. Net borrowing of mortgage debt rose to £4.5bn in November, following a decrease of £1bn to £4.2bn in October.
Growth in the eurozone eased in December but the bloc finished the year off with its strongest quarterly growth since the second quarter of 2023, according to a survey released on Tuesday. The final HCOB composite purchasing managers' index - which measures activity in both the manufacturing and services sectors - fell to 51.5 in December from a 30-month high of 52.8 in November. A reading above 50.0 indicates expansion, while a reading below signals expansion.
Supermarket sales rallied in December, industry data showed on Tuesday, as shoppers sought out bargains and grocery inflation moderated. According to Worldpanel by Numerator, take-home sales at UK grocers jumped 3.8% in the four weeks to 28 December, to a record £13.8bn.
Business activity across the UK's dominant service sector ticked only modestly higher in December, a closely-watched survey showed on Tuesday, missing expectations. The S&P Global UK services PMI business activity index came in at 51.4 last month, up only fractionally on November's 51.3. It was also lower than S&P Global's earlier flash estimate and consensus, both for 52.1.
The UK construction downturn eased slightly in December, though the sector still experienced sharp falls in housing, commercial and civil engineering activity, according to data out on Wednesday from S&P Global. The S&P Global UK construction purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 40.1 over the final month of 2025, up from a five-year low of 39.4 in November.
UK house prices unexpectedly dropped in December, according to figures released on Thursday by Halifax. House prices fell 0.6% on the month following a 0.1% decline in November, missing expectations for a 0.2% increase. On the year, house prices rose 0.3% in December following a 0.6% jump the month before. Analysts were expecting an annual increase of 1.1%.
International events
Economic activity in the US manufacturing sector contracted in December for the 10th consecutive month, according to a widely-read survey published on Monday. The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing purchasing managers index registered 47.9% in December, a 0.3-percentage point decrease from November's 48.2% and the lowest reading of 2025. However, the number remained above 42.3, a level that ISM said over time generally indicated an expansion of the overall economy.
German inflation slowed much more than expected in December to its lowest rate in 15 months, according to data out on Tuesday from the Federal Statistical Office. The year-on-year increase in the consumer price index fell to just 1.8% last month, down from 2.3% in November and well below the 2.0% rate expected by economists.
US job openings fell more than expected in November, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS' Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, showed there were 7.1m job openings, down from 7.4m in October and below economists' expectations of 7.6m. The figure for October was revised down by 221,000. Over the year, the number of job openings was down by 885,000.
US forces have seized two more tankers accused of shipping oil in breach of sanctions against Venezuela, military officials said on Wednesday. One vessel, flying the Russian flag and recently re-named the Marinera from its previous name of Bella 1 under a Guyanese flag, had sailed into the southeastern Icelandic exclusive economic zone in the early hours of Wednesday, Iceland's Coast Guard said. It is not carrying any oil cargo.
US new orders for manufactured goods fell more than expected in October after two consecutive monthly increases, according to official data published on Wednesday. New orders were down 1.3% month on month to $604.8bn, compared with consensus forecasts of a 1.2% decline and a revised increase of 0.2% in September, the US Census Bureau said.
Eurozone inflation fell to 2% last month, in line with forecasts and the European Central Bank's target rate, according to official data published on Wednesday. The figure compared with November's 2.1% and will bolster the case for interest rates within the single-currency bloc to remain on hold this year after several cuts in 2025. Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, fell to 2.3% from 2.4% in November.
The US services sector grew at its fastest rate in 14 months in December, according to the Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday, as activity accelerated for the third month in a row. The ISM services purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 54.5% last month, marking its 10th straight month in positive territory - marked by any figure above the neutral 50.0 level - and up from 52.6% in November.
Retail sales in Germany unexpectedly fell by their most in five months in November, according to the Federal Statistical Office on Wednesday, as food sales dropped sharply. Retail sales fell by 0.6% over the month, wiping out a 0.3% gain over the preceding two months and surprising economists who had pencilled in an increase of 0.2%.
Initial jobless claims in the United States increased largely as expected over the week to 3 January, though the monthly rolling average fell to its lowest in over a year and a half. According to data out on Thursday from the Department of Labor, the number of first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose 8,000 to 208,000 last week, while the previous week's total was revised 1,000 higher to 200,000.
The US involvement in Venezuela could last for years, US President Donald Trump said, as he looked to dominate its oil industry and consolidate America's power in the western hemisphere. Trump also said the Latin American country would only be able to buy US goods with the proceeds of any oil sales, after Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Washington would oversee crude sales of Venezuelan oil "indefinitely". An initial "deal" to sell 30 million to 50 million barrels of blockaded crude was agreed this week.
Consumer sentiment remained subdued across the Eurozone at the end of last year, a long-running survey showed on Thursday, despite the unemployment rate nudging lower. According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 6.3% in November, down from 6.4% in October. Consensus had been for no change.
Chinese inflation rose at its quickest the pace in almost three years, driven by higher food prices, but weak factory gate deflation remained, highlighting weak underlying demand. The consumer-price index rose 0.8% year on year, in line with forecasts and the biggest rise since February 2023. However, 2025 CPI was zero, and well below the official target of 2%, according to data published by the National Bureau of Statistics.
Germany's trade surplus eased to its lowest level in nearly three years in November as exports unexpectedly fell, data on Friday showed, while industrial output across the country picked up. The calendar and seasonally adjusted foreign trade balance fell to €13.1bn in November, down from a revised €17.2bn in October, marking its smallest surplus since December 2022, according to Destatis figures.
The US economy added fewer than expected jobs in December, according to a closely watched employment report out from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, though the jobless rate still fell more than predicted. Non-farm payrolls rose by 50,000 last month, less than the 60,000 additions expected by analysts. December's figures were lower than a 56,000 gain in November, which was revised down from the initial estimate of 64,000.
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