<div id="readability-page-1"><div>(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened mostly higher on Wednesday, buoyed by a fresh record in gold prices that strengthened miners.The FTSE 100 index opened up 25.98 points, 0.2%, at 10,162.04. The FTSE 250 was down 28.68 points, 0.1%, at 22,903.29, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.42 points, 0.1%, at 798.63.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 1,018.78, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.1% at 19,983.82, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 17,998.92.In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.5%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was marginally lower.The price of gold rose on Wednesday to set a fresh record of USD4,638.00 an ounce, up from USD4,598.33 late Tuesday.The rise reflected ongoing safe-haven demand and bets on further US interest rate cuts after Tuesday's inflation reading met expectations.This translated into gains for London-listed miners, lifting the blue-chip index, with Endeavour Mining leading the FTSE 100, up 2.4%, while Glencore was not far behind, rising 1.7%.The pound was quoted at USD1.3449 early on Wednesday in London, higher compared to USD1.3428 at the equities close on Tuesday. The euro stood at USD1.1646, up from USD1.1638. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY158.93, lower compared to JPY159.17.Soothing US inflation data from Tuesday was blurred by lingering concerns over Federal Reserve independence, although US consumer price inflation came in largely in line with expectations. Headline inflation held steady at 2.7% year-on-year.JPMorgan on Tuesday kicked off the US earnings season, with mixed market reactions. Shares slid 4.2% on Wednesday as investors took profits following better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings.On the economy, CEO Jamie Dimon told the earnings call: &#34;Consumers have money, there's still jobs even though it's weakened a little bit,&#34; while a &#34;huge&#34; stimulus is coming from the &#34;One Big Beautiful Bill&#34;.In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8%, the S&amp;P 500 declined 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.1%.The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.17%, narrowing from 4.18%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.83%, narrowing from 4.84%. After the US Supreme Court last Friday offered little clarity on the legality of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, a ruling is expected on Wednesday. If deemed unlawful, the US may need to refund tariff revenues to companies that filed complaints last year, potentially widening the US budget deficit.&#34;That would be negative for US bonds but welcome relief for exporters to, and importers from, the US - including autos, consumer staples and tech,&#34; said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote.Back in London, Pearson was at the bottom of the FTSE 100 after reporting 2025 performance in line with guidance. Underlying group sales growth was 4% for the year, with momentum strengthening into the fourth quarter, when sales rose 8%.Adjusted operating profit is expected to come in at GBP610 million to GBP615 million, up around 6% on an underlying basis. Free cash flow conversion exceeded 95%, supported by strong cash generation and a GBP100 million state aid repayment.Oil major BP was down 1.1% after warning shareholders it will write down the value of its green investments by between USD4 billion and USD5 billion when it publishes full-year results next month.In a fourth-quarter trading update, BP said upstream production is expected to be broadly flat quarter-on-quarter, with oil output steady and gas &amp; low-carbon production lower. Realisations in gas &amp; low-carbon energy and oil production &amp; operations are expected to weigh on results by up to USD300 million and USD400 million respectively.SSE shares were up 1.9% after it said it has secured a 20-year contract for 1.4 gigawatts of offshore wind power from phase B of its Berwick Bank wind farm, allowing the project to progress towards a final investment decision expected in 2027.The Perth, Scotland-based electricity generator said Berwick Bank B was successful in the UK's seventh Contracts for Difference allocation round, securing a guaranteed strike price of GBP89.49 per megawatt hour for 1,380 megawatts of capacity.The price is based on 2024 prices and will be indexed annually for consumer price inflation over the 20-year contract period.The CfD award followed a record auction round in which the UK government awarded contracts for 8.4 gigawatts of new offshore wind capacity.While the latest round announced on Wednesday saw higher strike prices than in previous years, the government said the contracts would help reduce the UK's exposure to volatile global fossil fuel markets.On the FTSE 250, Vistry was the biggest faller, down 7.7%, after it said 2025 total completions fell to around 15,700 from 17,225 in 2024.The Kent, England-based housebuilder said market conditions remain uncertain in the near term and that 2025 revenue is expected to be broadly flat at GBP4.2 billion. It expects adjusted pretax profit to be in line with expectations and to come in at around GBP270 million, up from GBP263.5 million a year earlier.Among smaller caps, Eqtec shares more than doubled to 0.11 pence from 0.055 pence at Tuesday's close. The provider of syngas technology and engineering services for clean conversion of waste into sustainable energy and biofuels announced it is building on its gasification foundation into complementary assets central to global electrification.In Asia on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 1.5%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.3%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.6%. The S&amp;P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.1%Brent oil was quoted at USD64.89 a barrel early in London on Wednesday, down from USD65.65 late Tuesday.Still to come on Wednesday's economic calendar are US producer price index inflation data and the current account balance, US existing home sales, US Energy Information Administration crude oil inventories and the Federal Reserve's Beige Book.By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporterComments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.comCopyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.</div></div>

Stock prices in London opened higher, driven by record gold prices, with the FTSE 100 up 0.2% at 10,162.04. Gold reached USD4,638.00 an ounce, boosting miners like Endeavour Mining and Glencore. The pound rose to USD1.3449, while US inflation data showed steady year-on-year rates. JPMorgan's earnings report led to mixed reactions, with shares down 4.2%. BP warned of significant write-downs on green investments, while SSE secured a long-term offshore wind contract. Vistry fell 7.7% due to reduced completions amid uncertain market conditions.

Miners lift FTSE 100 as gold hits new record high