On Wednesday, London’s FTSE 100 remained stable, as weaknesses in the banking and industrial sectors, exacerbated by renewed trade tensions associated with Greenland, overshadowed several positive earnings reports.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 was flat at 22,997.66 points by 1045, emerging from a three-day losing streak. Market sentiment deteriorated this week following U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose escalating tariffs on eight European nations starting February 1, contingent upon the United States being permitted to purchase Greenland.

Trump arrives in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, where he is expected to intensify his efforts to acquire the island, notwithstanding the protests from Europe. Banks were the biggest drag on the FTSE 100, down 0.9%, while industrial support services and aerospace and defence lost 2.1% and 1.4%, respectively. Credit data and analytics company Experian maintained its full-year forecast and reported an 8% growth in its third-quarter organic revenue, though its shares dropped 5.2%.

In a bid to mitigate losses, shares of Rio Tinto experienced a 5% increase following the Anglo-Australian miner’s performance, which surpassed expectations for quarterly iron ore and copper production. Industrial metal miners and precious metal miners continued to rise as prices of gold, silver, and copper gained, with investors also gravitating toward the metals as safe-haven assets. Burberry opens new tab climbed 5% after the luxury brand beat expectations for sales growth in the key holiday quarter. The FTSE 250 midcap index added 0.1%, with Premier Foods up 6.6% following the forecast of annual profit at the upper end of market expectations by the owner of Mr Kipling.

JD Wetherspoon opens new tab slumped 6.7% after the pub chain warned that fiscal 2026 profit could fall. Meanwhile, data indicated that British inflation increased beyond expectations in December, yet investors maintained their positions regarding the Bank of England’s anticipated interest rate cuts later this year.Goldman Sachs analysts indicated in a note that they maintain their expectation for a significant decline in headline inflation by 2026, and they anticipate that the BoE will implement three rate cuts in March, June, and September.