London stocks ended higher on Friday after US President Donald Trump nominated former Fed governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair, but miners were under pressure as gold and silver prices slid.
The FTSE 100 closed up 0.5% at 10,223.54.
The US dollar gained after Warsh's appointment was announced, while silver and gold prices fell. Gold futures on Comex were down 6.4% at $4,977.60, while silver was 19% lower at $92.605.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said the knee-jerk market reaction to the announcement has been hawkish.
"Gold and silver have slumped; Treasury yields are slightly higher and the dollar is the top performer in the G10 FX space. The market is rotating out of the dollar debasement trade on Friday, but is this too premature?"
Brooks noted that Warsh was once considered one of the Fed's most hawkish members when he was a governor and was vocal in his criticism of quantitative easing. However, she pointed out that "Warsh has changed his stance in recent months and has become a lot more dovish, which is probably why Trump picked him to be Fed chair".
On home shores, data from the Bank of England showed that mortgage approvals fell to an 18-month low at the end of last year, surprising analysts.
According to the central bank's latest Money and Credit report, there were 61,013 mortgage approvals in December, against 64,072 in November - revised down from 64,530 - and the lowest since June 2024.
December is traditionally one of the housing market's quietest months. However, analysts had still predicted a modest rise.
Net borrowing of mortgage debt was unchanged on November at £4.6bn.
In equity markets, Lloyds Banking Group rallied again, having gained on Thursday on the back of results. NatWest and Barclays were also up.
Credit-checking firm Experian rose as it announced the launch of a $1bn share buyback programme.
AstraZeneca edged up after saying it had expanded its weight‑management pipeline, striking a strategic collaboration with China's CSPC Pharmaceuticals to develop a series of next‑generation obesity and type‑2 diabetes therapies.
On the downside, precious metals miner Fresnillo and gold miners Pan African Resources, Hochschild and Endeavour all slumped as gold and silver prices tanked following recent record highs.
Heavily-weighted mining stocks were in the red, with Glencore, Anglo American and Rio Tinto among the worst performers on the FTSE 100.
Telecoms and mobile money services provider Airtel Africa slid despite reporting a surge in quarterly earnings after it boosted coverage and customer numbers rose.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,223.54 0.51%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,253.36 -0.06%
techMARK (TASX) 5,929.65 0.36%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 108.95p 3.32%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,242.00p 2.35%
Experian (EXPN) 2,758.00p 2.34%
Diageo (DGE) 1,675.50p 2.29%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 418.20p 2.05%
Haleon (HLN) 378.90p 1.96%
Kingfisher (KGF) 336.80p 1.81%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 665.20p 1.81%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 6,092.00p 1.67%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,940.50p 1.50%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Airtel Africa (AAF) 319.20p -6.61%
Fresnillo (FRES) 3,702.00p -5.08%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,648.00p -3.65%
Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 46.00p -3.36%
Mondi (MNDI) 857.80p -2.69%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,408.00p -2.63%
Entain (ENT) 605.00p -2.26%
3i Group (III) 3,351.00p -2.10%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,406.00p -1.99%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 11,965.00p -1.93%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Genus (GNS) 3,160.00p 3.44%
Hays (HAS) 47.44p 3.27%
Hilton Food Group (HFG) 470.00p 3.07%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 518.50p 2.27%
RS Group (RS1) 670.00p 2.21%
Renishaw (RSW) 3,800.00p 2.15%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 205.40p 2.09%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 173.00p 2.00%
Softcat (SCT) 1,426.00p 2.00%
Future (FUTR) 541.50p 1.88%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Pan African Resources (PAF) 132.20p -8.19%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 917.00p -8.13%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 4,222.00p -6.55%
Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 105.00p -6.25%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 676.00p -4.65%
HGCapital Trust (HGT) 452.00p -4.24%
THG (THG) 37.28p -3.98%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 98.25p -3.11%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 182.40p -3.05%
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 634.00p -2.31%