London stocks fell on Monday as US President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats rattled markets, but the top-flight index fared better than European peers thanks to strong gold miners and an afternoon surge for insurers after Zurich Financial disclosed a takeover bid for Beazley.
The FTSE 100 closed down 0.4% at 10,195.35, but significantly outperformed its European peers, with the benchmark Stoxx 600 ending down 1.2%. US markets were closed for Martin Luther King Jr day.

Market sentiment took a hit after Trump said on Truth Social over the weekend 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 was done.

In response, the European Union was said to be weighing a package of counter tariffs that would affect €93bn worth of US trade. Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer criticised Trump but said the UK was not currently considering its own retaliatory tariffs.

In an emergency speech, Starmer insisted Trump's use of tariffs on Nato allies was "completely wrong" and "not the right way to resolve the difference within an alliance". He also reiterated that the future of Greenland was for the people of Greenland and Denmark alone to decide.

But he also told reporters that a trade war was "in no-one's interests".

Trump's latest threats came as world leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said: "The fact US markets are closed for a public holiday means we're only seeing half the picture today.

"London's blue-chip FTSE 100 was cushioned from the full impact of investor nerves over Donald Trump's tariff threats, after shares in insurer Beazley hit a record high on news that Swiss rival Zurich had tabled an offer to snap up the company. But fears that a hard-fought trade deal between Europe and the US might now be off the cards contributed to significant falls across European indices.

"It's hard to know which approach is the right one to take when dealing with a US president still harbouring a grudge after not being awarded with last year's Nobel Peace Prize. It has often been said that Donald Trump is all about the transaction, but when a perceived slight is added to the mix, it introduces another level of complexity."

In equity markets, Beazley rocketed to the top of the FTSE 100 after Zurich Financial said it had made a £7.7bn takeover offer for the London-listed insurer. The offer of 1,280p a share in cash represents a 56% premium to the closing share price on Friday.

The latest proposal followed an earlier approach made by Zurich on 4 January at 1,230p a share, which was rejected on 16 January on the basis that it significantly undervalued Beazley.

Beazley said it had not yet had the chance to consider Zurich's improved offer. "We will update shareholders in due course. In the meantime, Beazley shareholders are urged to take no action," it said.

Fellow insurers Hiscox, Admiral and Lancashire Holdings also shot up.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said Zurich's bid for Beazley "means 2026 is starting with a bang for the UK stock market, whose tempting valuations are proving irresistible to both trade and financial buyers".

He continued: "If it goes through, the Swiss swoop will further boost cash returns for holders of UK-listed shares, who enjoyed a powerful combination of capital gains, dividends and share buybacks in 2025 and a repeat performance in 2026 could yet see the FTSE 100 and other benchmarks set fresh all-time highs."

Precious metals miner Fresnillo and gold miner Hochschild both shone as gold and silver prices hit record highs amid mounting geopolitical tensions.

WH Smith jumped 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 will succeed current chair Annette Court, who will step down at the end of WH Smith's annual general meeting on 2 February.

Vodafone gained as Citi lifted its price target on the 'neutral' rated shares to 100p from 85p.

On the downside, landscaping supply group Marshalls fell after saying it expects to report annual earnings in line with market expectations but that the outlook for 2026 "continues to be uncertain".

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,195.35 -0.39%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,115.12 -0.84%
techMARK (TASX) 5,877.90 -0.48%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Beazley (BEZ) 1,170.00p 42.68%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,516.00p 9.14%
Fresnillo (FRES) 3,996.00p 6.67%
BT Group (BT.A) 185.80p 3.83%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,099.00p 1.81%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,076.00p 1.52%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,612.00p 1.46%
Next (NXT) 13,950.00p 1.38%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,874.00p 1.38%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 102.00p 1.19%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 13,585.00p -6.02%
Diploma (DPLM) 5,460.00p -3.96%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 616.80p -3.75%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 18,070.00p -3.73%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,110.00p -3.62%
3i Group (III) 3,252.00p -3.24%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,236.50p -2.79%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,085.00p -2.77%
Halma (HLMA) 3,596.00p -2.76%
Relx plc (REL) 3,014.00p -2.59%

FTSE 250 - Risers

WH Smith (SMWH) 699.00p 11.04%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 624.00p 4.00%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 4,022.00p 2.92%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 4,096.00p 2.50%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 949.00p 2.15%
Pennon Group (PNN) 555.50p 1.93%
Johnson Service Group (JSG) 144.00p 1.69%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 170.60p 1.64%
Fidelity Emerging Markets Limited Ptg NPV (FEML) 1,146.00p 1.24%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 165.20p 1.23%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Trustpilot Group (TRST) 214.00p -7.84%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 262.00p -7.09%
Marshalls (MSLH) 167.20p -5.75%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 283.20p -5.54%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 199.30p -4.64%
AEP Plantations (AEP) 1,460.00p -4.26%
Future (FUTR) 492.60p -4.16%
Elementis (ELM) 164.80p -3.96%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 283.80p -3.86%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 61.10p -3.78%