London stocks fell in early trade on Monday but losses were contained as investors appeared to take US President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats in their stride, with gains for defence firms and gold miners also lending a hand.
At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 10,209.60. US markets will be closed for Martin Luther King Jr day.

Market sentiment took a hit after Trump said over the weekend on Truth Social that he would impose tariffs of 10% from 1 February, rising to 25% from the 1 June, on eight European countries opposing US efforts to acquire Greenland.

The affected countries are Denmark, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

Trump said the tariffs would remain in place until a deal for the sale of Greenland to the US is done.

His latest threats came as world leaders were set to gather at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week.

Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "UK and European markets are tracking Asian markets downwards this morning after an extraordinary weekend of economic sabre-rattling over Greenland.

"The European Union has hit back with a proposed €93 billion tariff package and has dusted off its never-before-used ACI (anti-coercion instrument), which would further limit US companies' access to major contracts across the single market.

"The UK is yet to make a formal response, but the Prime Minister will address the nation today at 2:30pm after reiterating his opposition to Washington's desire to take control of Greenland in a call with Donald Trump on Sunday. The market reaction to this escalation has been relatively muted compared to the post-liberation day sell-off seen last April. Given the President's history of dramatic threats and last-minute stand-downs, investors may be pricing in a generous degree of bluff in this high-stakes poker game.

"However, markets are close to record-highs. If this year's theme of the 'Spirit of Dialogue' at the World Economic Forum in Davos turns out to be more ironic than prophetic, there's scope for a steeper dip in risk-on assets."

On home shores, industry data showed house prices rocketed in January as the market rebounded strongly following last autumn's Budget.

According to the latest house price index from Rightmove, the national average asking price shot up by a record 2.8% this month. It is the largest-ever increase in the month of January, and the largest in any month since June 2015.

The average asking price now stands at £368,031, while the number of available homes for sale is the highest it has been at this time of year since 2014.

Rightmove's Colleen Babcock called it an "encouraging" start to 2026, especially following the muted growth seen in 2025.

"Over the last week, buyer demand is lower than last year, when buyer activity was boosted by some buyers trying to find a property before stamp duty rose in April.

"However, buyer demand is in line with 2024. It's an encouraging early snapshot, and as the start of the year progresses it will become clearer if this momentum is maintained into the peak spring selling season."

The unusually long build-up to last year's Budget - which was held in November, a month later than normal - weighed heavily on consumer sentiment. However, despite widespread speculation and leaks, in the end the Budget did not include as many tax rises as feared.

Further supporting the housing market since then was a quarter point reduction in the cost of borrowing, to 3.75%, in December, and the prospect of more cuts to come.

Data from Rightmove showed a 57% spike in buyer demand in the two weeks after Christmas Day in 2025, with the number of homes newly listed for sale rising by 81% compared to the fortnight before 25 December.

Rightmove said Boxing Day had been its busiest ever for visits to the platform. Year-on-year, house prices rose 0.5% in January.

In equity markets, defence firms were the standout gainers, with BAE Systems and Babcock both sharply higher.

Precious metals miner Fresnillo and gold miners Endeavour and Hochschild all racked up strong gains as gold and silver prices hit record highs.

WH Smith shot to the top of the FTSE 250 as the travel retailer appointed Leo Quinn to the role of executive chairman with effect from 7 April. Quinn has over 20 years' experience as CEO of UK publicly quoted companies, most recently as CEO of infrastructure group Balfour Beatty.

Landscaping supply group Marshalls fell after saying it expects to report annual earnings in line with market expectations despite subdued end markets and "prolonged" pre-Budget uncertainty during the second half which saw revenues come in flat. It also said the outlook for 2026 "continues to be uncertain" but that it is confident that cost-cutting last year would deliver an improved financial performance.

Great Portland Estates lost ground as it appointed Jayne Cottam to the role of chief financial officer with effect from 16 March.

Workspace Group nudged lower as it announced that chief executive Lawrence Hutchings was leaving the company after just 14 months in the role. He will be replaced by Charlie Green, the former CEO and co-founder of The Office Group, now known as Fora.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,209.60 -0.25%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,152.93 -0.68%
techMARK (TASX) 5,897.41 -0.15%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Fresnillo (FRES) 3,934.00p 5.02%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,511.00p 1.82%
BAE Systems (BA.) 2,119.00p 1.48%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,874.00p 1.38%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 317.80p 0.95%
Tesco (TSCO) 425.90p 0.92%
BT Group (BT.A) 180.20p 0.70%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,050.00p 0.66%
Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 43.28p 0.64%
Glencore (GLEN) 481.55p 0.62%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 14,010.00p -3.08%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,207.00p -2.35%
Spirax Group (SPX) 7,025.00p -2.23%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 79.88p -2.18%
Diageo (DGE) 1,619.50p -2.17%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,190.00p -2.11%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,246.50p -2.00%
ICG (ICG) 2,010.00p -1.95%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 629.40p -1.78%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,117.00p -1.76%

FTSE 250 - Risers

WH Smith (SMWH) 680.00p 8.02%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 4,096.00p 2.50%
NCC Group (NCC) 143.00p 2.29%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 526.00p 2.04%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 3,976.00p 1.74%
Pennon Group (PNN) 551.00p 1.10%
Pan African Resources (PAF) 125.80p 0.96%
HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited A Shs (HVPE) 3,170.00p 0.96%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 318.50p 0.79%
Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited (BSIF) 69.50p 0.72%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 286.90p -4.30%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 224.20p -3.45%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,345.00p -2.70%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 230.50p -2.54%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 275.10p -2.45%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 61.95p -2.44%
Man Group (EMG) 265.20p -2.43%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 305.00p -2.37%
Volution Group (FAN) 638.00p -2.15%
Renishaw (RSW) 3,795.00p -2.06%