FTSE 100 up 0.46%, FTSE 250 flatAstraZeneca to acquire Modella AI, shares up 2.4%Pearson falls after losing New Jersey contractBoE’s Taylor expects interest rates to fall as inflation coolsJan 14 (Reuters) – Britain’s FTSE 100 ended at a record high on Wednesday, buoyed by gains in miners and healthcare names, while Pearson (PSON.L), opens new tab fell after a contract setback in New Jersey.The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE), opens new tab closed up at 0.46% at 10,184.35 points, while the domestically focused mid-cap index FTSE 250 (.FTMC), opens new tab ended 0.1% higher.
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A broader index for miners (.FTNMX551020), opens new tab jumped 2.3%, with Rio Tinto (RIO.L), opens new tab up 2.3%, Atalaya Mining adding 1.8%, and Glencore (GLEN.L), opens new tab up 3%, boosted by copper prices which scaled a new high.Precious metal miners (.FTNMX551030), opens new tab were up 0.1% as gold prices extended their record-breaking rally.
“A more interventionist Donald Trump who is pressuring the Fed, demanding corporations do as he wishes, and plans to take Greenland are all driving flows into the relative safety of gold,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
The pharmaceutical index (.FTNMX201030), opens new tab was also a standout, up 2%, helped by heavyweight AstraZeneca (AZN.L), opens new tab after the drugmaker agreed to buy Boston-based Modella AI, as the industry increasingly uses artificial intelligence to speed up drug discovery.Separately, Bank of England policymaker Alan Taylor said UK interest rates should keep falling as inflation is on track to hit the 2% target by mid-2026, earlier than previously forecast.
Market participants see only about two moderate-sized rate cuts by the end of this year, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Limiting overall gains, the media index (.FTNMX403010), opens new tab slipped 2.5%, dragged by a 9.5% drop in Pearson (PSON.L), opens new tab, the benchmark’s worst performer. The British education company reported that its biggest division, Assessment & Qualifications, lost a contract with New Jersey, which will be a headwind in the first half of 2026.The FTSE 350 index of Household goods was down 3%, weighed by an 8.8% drop in Vistry (VTYV.L), opens new tab after the company flagged a dip in forward sales position at the start of 2026, having reported fewer annual home completions.
Vistry was the worst performer on the midcap index on Wednesday.
Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Ed Osmond
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