London close: FTSE 100 tops 9,000 as miners provide a boost
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Monday 21 Jul 2025
(Sharecast News) - UK stocks eked out another record close on Monday, with the FTSE 100 registering closing above the the 9,000-point mark for the first time in history.
The benchmark index finished 0.2% higher at 9,009.04, surpassing an earlier record close of 8,998.06 on 14 July, helped by strong gains in the mining sector.
Monday was a quiet day for corporate earnings, economic data and tariff-related newsflow - though the latter is likely to stay in focus ahead of the 1 August deadline for duties on imports into the US (from countries that do not already have a trade deal in place with the US).
London's stocks were relatively rangebound for most of the session, but pushed higher in afternoon trade following a positive start on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 also notching another record high ahead of a busy few days for financial markets.
"Reports that the EU was contemplating retaliation against US tariffs have hobbled stocks on the continent, though the losses remained contained thanks to hopes that diplomacy may yet prevail," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.
"Overall the tone today's session has been very muted, with traders on both sides of the Atlantic holding off ahead of a barrage of economic and corporate data later in the week."
In other news, figures from Rightmove released on Monday showed that the average house price in the UK fell by 1.2% in July to £373,709. The slide - the biggest monthly drop recorded for July since Rightmove began collating data in 2001 - was attributed to an ongoing jump in the amount of homes coming to market.
Meanwhile, the S&P Global UK consumer sentiment index came in at 45.1 for July, little changed on June's 45.0 and well below the neutral 50.0 benchmark, as concerns about household finances continued to weigh heavily.
Mining stocks provide a lift
Miners Antofagasta, Glencore, Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Fresnillo rose strongly, with analysts linking the gains to the start of the massive RMB1.2trn hydropower dam project in Tibet, which is expected to benefit the construction, machinery and mining sectors.
"China is powering ahead with a $167bn hydropower project which will need significant amounts of construction materials - it's Christmas come early for miners like Anglo American and Rio Tinto which are major players in the world of iron ore. That's a gigantic amount of money and suggests China has regained its appetite for construction projects on a massive scale," said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.
"It comes hot on the heels of efforts in China to stop overcapacity in the steel industry, an initiative which could boost steel prices and make the industry more profitable."
Flutter Entertainment shares were pulling back from a five-month high ahead of the gambling and sports betting company's interim results due out in a couple of weeks. Before Monday's pullback, shares had risen more than 14% over the past month, with broker Berenberg saying in a research note last week that there was "scope for Q2 to surprise to the upside".
BAE Systems was also retreating following a stellar performance so far this year, having surged by two-thirds so far this year. The pullback came despite the announcement on Monday of a $12m aircraft contract from L3Harris for the Italian Air Force.
Energy major BP edged higher as investors digested the news that former CRH boss Albert Manifold will succeed Helge Lund, following the chair's resignation in April. BP said that Manifold was the "ideal candidate" following a "rigorous and comprehensive global search".
On the FTSE 250, molecular technology business Oxford Nanopore surged after delivering a "strong" first-half performance, with reported revenues expected to be up by a quarter year-on-year - comfortably ahead of analysts' predictions.
MoneySuperMarket-owner Mony Group was a heavy faller despite reiterating its full-year guidance as the company reportted ongoing weakness in the car insurance market. Group revenues in the six months to 30 June nudged up just 1%, to £225.3m, but insurance revenues fell 2%.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,009.04 0.19%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,012.46 0.52%
techMARK (TASX) 5,166.04 -0.47%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,956.50p 4.71%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,497.00p 3.60%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,307.00p 3.31%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 352.40p 3.04%
Glencore (GLEN) 312.75p 3.03%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 297.60p 2.76%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,610.00p 2.73%
SSE (SSE) 1,929.00p 2.42%
Centrica (CNA) 156.65p 2.19%
Tesco (TSCO) 424.50p 1.99%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Informa (INF) 817.40p -2.30%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 22,300.00p -2.28%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,900.50p -2.04%
Diageo (DGE) 1,897.00p -1.66%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 10,655.00p -1.62%
Haleon (HLN) 354.30p -1.23%
Kingfisher (KGF) 278.00p -1.21%
WPP (WPP) 413.80p -1.15%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,278.00p -1.13%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 536.00p -1.00%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 174.80p 19.24%
Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 163.00p 17.60%
Rank Group (RNK) 155.80p 5.84%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 2,284.00p 4.10%
ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 1,468.00p 3.67%
Coats Group (COA) 75.40p 3.57%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 176.90p 2.97%
Patria Private Equity Trust (PPET) 556.00p 2.96%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,074.00p 2.68%
Workspace Group (WKP) 405.50p 2.66%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Mony Group (MONY) 203.40p -7.21%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 322.00p -5.57%
Future (FUTR) 712.50p -3.91%
Energean (ENOG) 931.00p -2.21%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,986.00p -2.17%
Indivior (INDV) 1,173.00p -2.09%
Renishaw (RSW) 2,940.00p -2.00%
SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 54.10p -1.99%
Wickes Group (WIX) 224.50p -1.75%
NCC Group (NCC) 146.20p -1.62%
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