Ftse 100 close to record high AGAIN after Donald Trump’s military intervention in Venezuela

On Friday, the stock market index closed up 0.2 per cent or 19.76 points, but had previously seen a record high of 10,046.25 points with the Ftse 100 rising by 21.4 per cent over 2025.

Going into today, IG future trading suggested an advance boost of 0.6 per cent once markets opened, which means the blue-chip index could skyrocket to as high as 10,010 points.

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Thanks to a two per cent rise in the price of gold, major miners such as Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo continued their growth with gains of more than four per cent as markets opened.

Notably, other mining stocks rallied with Glencore, Anglo American, and Rio Tinto jumping by two per cent, while BP and Shell also traded in positive territory on Monday morning.

In the aftermath of the US abduction of Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his wife, with President Donald Trump declaring his administration will “run” the beleaguered country.

BAE Systems and Babcock International received a stock boost from geopolitical uncertainty as their shares lifted three per cent or 58p to 1812p and by 37p to 1310p.

Markets have remained stable despite recent developments in South America, with oil prices only down by one per cent, while the future of Venezuelan oil reserves remains unclear.

In reaction to the news, Capital Economics shared: “Venezuelan supply accounts for about one per cent of the global oil market, and even if production returned to its glory days of a decade ago, it would only be about two per cent of it.

“So, it’s not surprising that so far the effect on oil prices has been limited. Venezuela had, of course, become China’s strongest ally in Latin America: if things go according to the US administration’s apparent plan, that will be over.

“All else equal, that gives the US slightly more leverage in future trade negotiations, potentially to the detriment of China’s markets which already look vulnerable to us if tensions between those two countries were to re-escalate.”

Concerningly, retail stocks slipped ahead of trading updates this week, with Next falling one per cent or 130p lower at 13,405p, Sainsbury’s down 2.6p to 325.4p, and Tesco off 3p at 439.2p.

Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Matt Britzman said: “Next kicks off a big week for UK retail on Tuesday, with investors looking for another strong update after October’s sales update smashed expectations and profit guidance was lifted to £1.1billion.

“Marks & Spencer reports on Thursday, hoping a solid Christmas can help it move past last year’s cyber-attack and rebuild confidence. Sainsbury’s follows on Friday, with festive trading likely to support its upgraded profit target of more than £1billion.”

A bright spot in the retail market came thanks to Aldi, which reported a three per cent rise in total sales to £1.65billion for the four weeks to Christmas Eve, having raked in a record 57 million transactions from consumers.

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The discount retailer was also named the Cheapest Supermarket of the Year by consumer champion Which? this past festive season as customers flocked to cheaper deals.

Giles Hurley, the chief executive officer of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “This Christmas proved once again that a great quality Christmas can still be affordable. We delivered a Christmas without compromise, offering customers award-winning British products at unbeatable prices.

“We’re grateful that more people than ever chose Aldi for their Christmas shop and trusted us to deliver both quality and value during what remains a challenging time for many. I’m immensely proud of our amazing colleagues who, once again, went above and beyond to deliver a wonderful Christmas for our customers.”