FTSE 100 reaches another record high as January is the best month in more than two years

The UK's benchmark stock index has reached another all-time high, in a month of record breaking.

The FTSE 100 index of most valuable companies on the London Stock Exchange closed at 8,666.65, breaking the record set on Thursday night after four consecutive days of rises.

January has been the best month in more than two years for the FTSE 100.

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Not since November 2022, during a stock market rebound after the Liz Truss's mini-budget, has the top flight index performed so well.

It comes as investors have looked to move away from tech stocks after new Chinese artificial intelligence chatbot DeepSeek proved such technology can be created with less investment and more quickly than its US rivals.

Those companies developing AI had soared in value in recent years.

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But the multinational mining and oil and gas companies that make up the FTSE 100 benefitted from that move to shelter.

Also behind the latest record high are the market expectations for more interest rate cuts in 2025, something which would make borrowing cheaper and likely kickstart spending. Three rate cuts are now expected this year.

A series of record-breaking closes were recorded in mid-January after a weak pound made buying shares with sterling cheaper. The cheaper cost increased demand and boosted share prices.

What is the FTSE 100?

The index is made up of many mining and international oil and gas companies, as well as UK banks and supermarkets. Familiar to a UK audience are lenders such as Barclays, Natwest, HSBC and Lloyds and supermarket chains Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's.

Other well-known names include Rolls-Royce, Unilever, easyJet, BT Group and Next.

FTSE stands for Financial Times Stock Exchange.

If a company's share price drops significantly it can slip outside of the FTSE 100 and into the larger and more UK-based FTSE 250 index.

The inverse works for the FTSE 250 companies, the 101st to 250th most valuable firms on the London Stock Exchange. If their share price rises significantly they could move into the FTSE 100.

It was not just the FTSE 100 that did well, the latest record is part of a broader gain for European stock markets.

(c) Sky News 2025: FTSE 100 reaches another record high as January is the best month in more than two years