London midday: FTSE turns higher as gold price recovers; software sector still weak

(Sharecast News) - London stocks had shaken off early losses to trade up by midday on Friday, helped along by a recovery in the gold price, although software names remained under pressure. The FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 10,331.90.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "It's been a week from hell for tech stocks as AI spending plans caused upset across global markets and pushed investors to unplug hyperscalers from their portfolios.

"Amazon has followed its peers by turning up the dial to max on AI spending, leaving investors with their jaws to the floor. The hyperscalers are so confident that AI will change the world, they're spending big bucks to have the foundations to serve what they predict will be sky-high demand. Investors are becoming increasingly dubious about the level of spending, fearing these companies are wasting their money."

On home shores, data from Halifax showed house prices rebounded in January to a record high.

House prices rose 0.7% on the month following a 0.5% decline in December. On the year, prices were up 1% in January following a 0.4% increase the month before.

The average price of a home stood at £300,077, up from £297,938 in December and above £300,000 for the first time.

Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said: "While that's undoubtedly a milestone figure, and activity levels show a resilient market, affordability remains a challenge for many would-be buyers.

"Broader economic conditions continue to provide some support. Wage growth has been outpacing property price inflation since late 2022, steadily improving underlying affordability. That's a positive trend for buyers, and the long-term health of the market.

"And we're now seeing more mortgage deals below 4%. If inflation continues to ease, there should be further gradual reductions as the year goes on. "All in all, we still think house prices are likely to edge up between 1% and 3% this year."

In equity markets, software stocks were still in the red, with Relx, Experian, Sage Group, Bytes Technology, Kainos and Softcat all lower, although LSEG managed to pop higher following recent heavy losses.

High-performance polymers business Victrex slumped after saying its 2026 first-half performance was expected to be weaker than the same period a year earlier, while Metlen Energy tumbled after a profit warning.

Gold miners shone, however, as the price of the yellow metal rose, with Fresnillo, Hochschild and Endeavour all up.

Glencore was also in the black, having tumbled on Thursday after it emerged that merger talks between it and Rio Tinto had been abandoned.

HgCapital gained as it reported a rise in its full-year net asset value despite a "challenging" market environment, although the share price has taken a hit amid recent volatility in the software sector. In an update for the year to the end of December 2025, the company said its NAV total return per share was 4% at 561.9p, with net assets of £2.6bn.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,331.90 0.22% FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,116.93 0.06% techMARK (TASX) 5,910.45 -0.22%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Fresnillo (FRES) 3,640.00p 2.36% Airtel Africa (AAF) 326.80p 2.06% Glencore (GLEN) 485.00p 2.05% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,141.50p 1.74% Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,214.00p 1.71% Barclays (BARC) 474.40p 1.70% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 426.70p 1.52% London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 7,700.00p 1.50% NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 658.60p 1.32% BAE Systems (BA.) 1,879.00p 1.21%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 37.38p -16.76% Relx plc (REL) 2,171.00p -3.47% Entain (ENT) 596.80p -3.24% Experian (EXPN) 2,542.00p -3.01% Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,255.50p -2.94% Mondi (MNDI) 881.40p -2.11% Croda International (CRDA) 2,848.00p -2.00% The Sage Group (SGE) 854.40p -1.93% Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,526.00p -1.68% Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 11,000.00p -1.61%

FTSE 250 - Risers

HGCapital Trust (HGT) 427.00p 5.82% Pan African Resources (PAF) 136.80p 3.01% Princes Group (PRN) 445.25p 2.95% Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 191.30p 2.46% JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 762.00p 2.42% Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 291.00p 2.32% International Workplace Group (IWG) 235.20p 2.17% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 648.00p 1.89% Keller Group (KLR) 1,872.00p 1.85% Hill and Smith (HILS) 2,275.00p 1.79%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Victrex plc (VCT) 659.00p -5.32% Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 141.10p -3.49% B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 170.80p -2.90% Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 299.60p -2.66% THG (THG) 35.30p -2.65% Kainos Group (KNOS) 757.00p -1.94% Playtech (PTEC) 281.00p -1.92% Softcat (SCT) 1,189.00p -1.82% Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 187.80p -1.78% Applied Nutrition (APN) 231.00p -1.70%