FTSE 100 Hits Fresh Record High

(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks are up in positive territory Friday morning, and the benchmark FTSE 100 looks set to end the month with a strong gain, as the mood remains a bit bullish amid optimism about more monetary easing by central banks in the coming months.

Uncertainty about the trade and economic policies of U.S. President Donald Trump and worries about potential new tariffs by his administration appear to be limiting the market's upside.

The benchmark FTSE 100 is up 28.82 or 0.33% at 8,675.70, after climbing to a fresh record high of 8,692.61 earlier this morning. The index is set to close the month with a gain of over 6%.

Smiths Group shares are soaring more than 11%. The stocks is up following the company unveiling plans to divest divisions and expand its share buyback program.

Next is rising 2.5%, while St. James's Place is gaining about 1.7%. Entain, Rolls-Royce Holdings, BAE Systems, Mondi, JD Sports Fashion, F&C Investment Trust, Melrose Industries and Shell are up 1 to 1.5%.

Smith (DS), Sainsbury, Admiral Group, Fresnillo, segro and Airtel Africa are down 1 to 1.6%. Prudential, Auto Trader Group, Convatec and Whitbread are moderatly lower.

On the economic front, data published by the Nationweide Building Society showed house prices in the U.K. gained only 0.1% in January, following a 0.7% rise in December. Economists had expected house prices to rise by 0.3% in January.

On yearly basis, house prices grew 4.1%, slower than the 4.7% rise in December. Prices were expected to climb 4.3%.

"The housing market continues to show resilience despite ongoing affordability pressures," Nationwide Chief Economist Robert Gardner said. Furthermore, the economist noted that house prices remain high relative to average earnings and the deposit hurdle remains high.

Capital Economics' economist Alex Kerr said higher mortgage rates started to weigh on prices. However, it won't last, he said.

Kerr expects the BoE to cut ts key rate from the current 4.75% to 3.5% in early 2026. This suggests that mortgage rates will fall from 4.6% in December to around 4% next year.

Kerr forecasts house prices to grow by an above-consensus 3.5% in the year to fourth quarter of 2025 and 4.5% in the year to fourth quarter of 2026.