FTSE 100 movers: Fresnillo shines in tandem with gold prices

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 9,155.68 in afternoon trade on Tuesday. Precious metals Fresnillo was the standout gainer on the index as gold prices hit a new all-time high.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Once again in 2025 gold prices have hit new record highs - reflecting the uncertain and volatile backdrop seen this year. Gold reached $3,508 per ounce.

"Gold has limited industrial applications and is typically in demand during periods of economic or geopolitical strife, when inflation threatens paper currencies or there are significant falls in bond and equity markets.

"Its role as a store of value goes back thousands of years and it often attracts investors at times of crisis because, unlike currencies, its value cannot be manipulated through adjustments to interest rates. Also, it is a scarce resource which is costly to mine, so it's supply cannot be increased rapidly, unlike the supply of money.

"A key driver over the last decade or so has been buying by central banks looking to diversify their reserves out of dollars. This has been particularly evident with countries like Russia and China, who have had periods where they've been at odds with the US.

"A second and somewhat related catalyst coming to the fore is reduced appetite for other traditional safe havens, including US government debt. This reflects investor concern about the size of the country's deficit and the credibility of the current trade policy. Weakness in the US dollar is another tailwind given gold is denominated in dollars.

"At the same time, geopolitical concerns remain relevant given the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and in Ukraine. A looming interest rate cut in the US is another positive for gold given one of its drawbacks as an asset class is a lack of income."

Consumer goods giant Unilever was also a high riser, likely due to the fact it's a defensive play in a poor market.

Retailer Marks & Spencer was under the cosh, along with housebuilder Persimmon.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,858.00p 1.81% Unilever (ULVR) 4,737.00p 1.57% Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 6,610.00p 1.07% Haleon (HLN) 364.30p 1.00% Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,461.00p 0.70% Shell (SHEL) 2,731.50p 0.53% AstraZeneca (AZN) 11,904.00p 0.46% Compass Group (CPG) 2,526.00p 0.36% GSK (GSK) 1,450.50p 0.21% BP (BP.) 431.80p 0.17%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 327.30p -4.94% Entain (ENT) 833.20p -4.41% St James's Place (STJ) 1,216.00p -3.95% Land Securities Group (LAND) 530.50p -3.89% Legal & General Group (LGEN) 236.10p -3.83% Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 655.50p -3.82% Schroders (SDR) 360.80p -3.74% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 378.90p -3.73% Persimmon (PSN) 1,035.00p -3.59% Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 771.60p -3.55%