FTSE 100 Edges Slightly Higher As Banks, Miners Move Up

After an early drop due to weakness in tech stocks amid concerns Artificial Intelligence could hurt the business models of several software firms, U.K.’s key index FTSE 100 recovered and moved above the flat line on Friday thanks to gains in banking and mining sectors.

The FTSE 100, which dropped to 10,233.70 earlier, was up 15.18 points or 0.15% at 10,324.40 about half an hour past noon.

Fresnillo and Glencore gained 2.7% and 2.2%, respectively, while Antofagasta moved up 0.75%.

In the banking sector, Barclays, Natwest Group and Lloyds Banking Group gained 1.7%, 1.4% and 1.2%, respectively. HSBC Holdings advanced by nearly 1%, while Standard Chartered Bank gained 0.6%.

Airtel Africa, Burberry Group, IAG, LSEG, SSE, M&G, St. James’s Place and Vodafone Group gained 1%-2.5%. BAE Systems and Kingfisher also posted notable gains.

Metlen Energy & Metals tumbled nearly 16% after the company said that it expects its 2025 EBITDA to come approximately 25% lower than previously targeted, despite robust performance in its core business segments.

Relx eased by about 3.1%. Smith & Nephew, Entain and Experian lost 2.9%, 2.8% and 2.3%, respectively. Mondi, The Sage Group, Croda International, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Convatec Group, Anglo American Plc and Diageo drifted lower by 1%-1.7%.

Data from the mortgage lender Halifax showed UK house prices rebounded at a stronger-than-expected pace in January, reaching a record high.

House prices increased 0.7% on a yearly basis in January, following a fall of 0.5% in December. Year-on-year, growth in house prices accelerated to 1% from 0.4% in the prior month.