UK Stocks Turning In Mixed Performance; FTSE 100 Down Marginally

(RTTNews) - U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down slightly a little past noon on Monday with stocks turning in a mixed performance in cautious trade as investors digest the latest batch of national and regional economic data.

The FTSE 100 was down 9.91 points or 0.1% at 9,710.60 nearly half an hour past noon.

Shares of mining companies fared exceptionally well. Fresnillo gained more than 5%, Anglo American Plc, Endeavour Mining and Glencore climbed 2.5%, 2.35% and 2.1%, respectively. Antofagasta advanced 1.3%, while Rio Tinto moved up nearly 1%.

Reckitt Benckiser gained about 2.1%. GSK, Imperial Brands, Unilever, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Rentokil Initial, Diageo and Haleon also posted notable gains.

Melrose Industries, a key player in the aerospace and defense sector, tumbled 5.6% after naming Ross McCluskey as its new CFO.

BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Babcock International, 3i Group, WPP, BT Group, St. James's Place, Smith & Nephew, Informa and RightMove lost 1.4 to 2.8%.

EasyJet dropped more than 1% after announcing it has completed software updates on its A320 aircraft family over the weekend.

Aviva, IAG, ICG, Barrat Redrow, Ashtead Group, Metlen Energy & Metals and Howden Joinery were among the other notable losers.

Data from S&P Global showed the UK Manufacturing PMI rose to 50.2 in November 2025 from 49.7 in October, confirming preliminary estimates and marking the first reading above the neutral 50.0 level since September 2024. Output expanded for the second consecutive month, supported by stronger domestic demand and a softer decline in export orders, while new orders stabilised following a 13-month contraction.

Business optimism rose to a nine-month high, with 56% of manufacturers expecting higher output over the next year, the data showed.