London close: Markets end year on positive note as stocks rise

(Sharecast News) - After a tentative start, UK stocks pushed firmly into positive territory in a shortened trading session on Tuesday, as the London Stock Exchange closes up shop early - along with the rest of European markets - at 1230 GMT. The FTSE 100, which has been trading within a tight range over the past two weeks following a mid-December sell-off, pushed 0.64% higher to finish the day (and year) at 8,173.02.

Despite the 1.7% drop for December as a whole, index closed 2024 up 5.9% from a year ago.

The FTSE 100 was outperforming other indices across Europe, which were putting in a tepid performance, while futures on Wall Street were pointing to small gains ahead of the opening bell. By the close of play, just six FTSE 100 stocks were in negative territory.

London's financial sector led the way, with Pershing Square, SEGRO, St James's Place and Schroders all among best performers on the top-tier index, followed by retailers JD Sports Fashion and Games Workshop; while oil majors Shell and BP were tracking crude prices higher.

Housebuilders Persimmon, Barratt Redrow, Berkeley and Taylor Wimpey were all performing well after Rightmove revealed that the number of properties listed for sale on the platform hit a record number on Boxing Day, up 26% year-on-year, while both new seller activity and website visits hit all-time highs. Rightmove itself, however, edged lower.

Meanwhile, pharma group Haleon rose after completing the acquisition of an additional 33% equity stake in its Chinese joint venture, Tianjin TSKF Pharmaceutical Co, for £500m.

"Of course, this week, the trading volumes are low, everyone - or almost everyone - is on holiday and the slightest moves in the market lead to exaggerated price action," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.

Nevertheless, the eagerly awaited Santa Rally - which historically kicks off on Christmas Eve and typically lasts until the third trading day of the new year - has largely failed to emerge, with traders choosing to take profits as global equity markets sit at or close to record-highs.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that holiday-season volatility and end-of-year profit-taking have contributed to recent movements across global stock markets. "The cautious mood aligns with global trends, as investors pare back positions ahead of the New Year amid uncertainty over monetary policy and the economic outlook under a Trump presidency," Britzman said.

The economic data calendar for Tuesday was relatively light, though leading indicators from China out overnight were making headlines. The NBS non-manufacturing PMI rose to 52.2 from 50.0, well ahead of the 50.2 consensus estimate, while the manufacturing PMI fell to 50.1 from 50.3, slightly short of the 50.3 expected.

Later in the US session, investors will be watching the S&P/Case-Shiller home price indices and the Federal Housing Finance Agency's housing price index for October.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,176.77 0.69% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,612.63 1.02% techMARK (TASX) 4,621.09 0.65%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,908.00p 2.73% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 95.26p 2.63% SEGRO (SGRO) 703.00p 2.15% St James's Place (STJ) 866.50p 2.06% Vodafone Group (VOD) 68.52p 1.93% Schroders (SDR) 322.40p 1.83% British Land Company (BLND) 362.00p 1.74% Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 441.30p 1.68% Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 122.65p 1.62% Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 509.00p 1.60%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Sage Group (SGE) 1,277.00p -0.62% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 302.50p -0.53% Rightmove (RMV) 644.20p -0.43% Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,728.00p -0.37% 3i Group (III) 3,574.00p -0.20% Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 377.30p -0.03%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Indivior (INDV) 1,026.00p 5.94% SThree (STEM) 293.50p 4.26% Bellway (BWY) 2,492.00p 3.66% Kainos Group (KNOS) 806.00p 3.60% Ferrexpo (FXPO) 106.40p 3.50% Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 106.40p 3.10% Ocado Group (OCDO) 302.80p 2.92% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 213.00p 2.90% Vistry Group (VTY) 571.50p 2.79% Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 142.60p 2.59%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 78.00p -2.50% Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) 315.00p -1.10% C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 146.60p -0.95% AO World (AO.) 103.00p -0.39% Senior (SNR) 160.60p -0.37% BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 406.50p -0.37% Schroder Oriental Income Fund Ltd. (SOI) 273.00p -0.36% RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 3,240.00p -0.31% Baillie Gifford Japan Trust (BGFD) 709.00p -0.28% Templeton Emerging Markets Inv Trust (TEM) 164.40p -0.12%