UK Shares Kick Off 2026 on Upbeat Note With FTSE 100's New Milestone

12:00 PM EST, 01/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- London's FTSE 100 wrapped up the first trading session of 2026 at 0.20% in the green on Friday, with the blue-chip index hitting a milestone as it traded above the 10,000 points for the first time. Fitch assigned Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.L) a BBB+ long-term issuer default rating, with a positive outlook, mainly reflecting the British aerospace and defense group's simplified legal structure and strong parent-subsidiary linkage, among others. Concurrently, rating agency peer Moody's also assigned a Baa1 long-term domestic and foreign-currency issuer ratings to the group, with a similar outlook. Rolls-Royce Holdings' stock was the index's top gainer, rising 4.09% at closing. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP.L) and Coca-Cola HBC (CCH.L) were among the top fallers, shedding 4.09% and 1.93%, respectively. On the macroeconomic front, the UK's manufacturing sector saw further stabilization in December 2025, with the final S&P Global UK Manufacturing PMI reaching a 15-month high of 50.6, against the previous month's 50.2 and the flash estimate of 51.2. The growth was supported by new order intakes edging higher for the first time since September 2024 and output rising for the third month in a row. "The domestic market remained a positive spur to growth while new export business, despite having now fallen for almost four consecutive years, took a sizeable stride towards stabilizing," said S&P Global Market Intelligence director Rob Dobson. "UK manufacturers benefited from several reduced headwinds towards the end of the year, as the negative impacts of the uncertainty surrounding the Autumn Budget, tariffs and the JLR cyber-attack all moderated. The start of 2026 will show if growth can be sustained after these temporary boosts subside." Elsewhere, the final HCOB Eurozone Manufacturing PMI fell to a nine-month low of 48.8 in December 2025, below the 49.6 in the prior month and the initial estimate of 49.2, data from Hamburg Commercial Bank and S&P Global showed. The latest figure reflects a deterioration in manufacturing performances in key euro area economies, particularly in Germany, while France recorded an improvement.