{"id":57558,"date":"2026-01-02T05:38:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T09:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-diverge-as-ftse-100-hits-record-high-amid-eurozone-manufacturing-slump-and-iran-us-tensions\/57558\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T05:38:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T09:38:20","slug":"global-markets-diverge-as-ftse-100-hits-record-high-amid-eurozone-manufacturing-slump-and-iran-us-tensions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-diverge-as-ftse-100-hits-record-high-amid-eurozone-manufacturing-slump-and-iran-us-tensions\/57558\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Markets Diverge as FTSE 100 Hits Record High Amid Eurozone Manufacturing Slump and Iran-US Tensions"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>FTSE 100 index<\/strong> surged past the <strong>10,000-point mark<\/strong> for the first time, kicking off 2026 with a significant rally driven by strong performance in 2025 and renewed investor confidence.<\/li>\n<li>Eurozone manufacturing activity deepened its contraction in December, with the <strong>Purchasing Managers&#39; Index (PMI) falling to 48.8<\/strong>, indicating a challenging end to 2025 for the sector.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>Eurozone M3 Money Supply<\/strong> saw a year-on-year increase of <strong>3.0% in November<\/strong>, surpassing expectations and suggesting a healthier liquidity environment.<\/li>\n<li>Geopolitical tensions escalated as Iran&#39;s Supreme Leader Adviser Ali Larijani warned that <strong>U.S. interference in Iran&#39;s ongoing protests<\/strong> would lead to <em>chaos across the entire region<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Global financial markets presented a mixed picture at the start of the new year, with the UK&#39;s benchmark index achieving a historic milestone while the Eurozone&#39;s manufacturing sector continued to struggle. Geopolitical concerns also resurfaced with a stern warning from Iran regarding regional stability.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>FTSE 100 index<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/UKX\">UKX<\/a>) reached an unprecedented high, topping <strong>10,000 points<\/strong> for the first time on Friday as trading resumed after the New Year&#39;s Day holiday. The blue-chip index climbed <strong>1.1%<\/strong> to <strong>10,039.05 points<\/strong> by 04:12 ET (09:12 GMT). This rally extended momentum from a robust 2025, during which the index gained over <strong>1,750 points<\/strong>, ending the year at <strong>9,931.38 points<\/strong> and delivering an annual gain of <strong>21.51%<\/strong>\u2014its strongest yearly performance since 2009. Mining stocks, benefiting from higher precious metals prices, and aerospace manufacturers like <strong>Fresnillo<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/FRES\">FRES<\/a>), <strong>Melrose Industries<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/MRO\">MRO<\/a>), and <strong>Rolls-Royce<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/RR\">RR<\/a>) were among the top performers contributing to the surge.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, the <strong>Eurozone&#39;s manufacturing sector<\/strong> concluded 2025 with a deeper contraction. The HCOB Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers&#39; Index (PMI), compiled by S&amp;P Global, fell to <strong>48.8 in December<\/strong> from 49.6 in November, marking its lowest reading in nine months and falling short of the preliminary estimate of 49.2. A reading below 50.0 indicates contraction in activity. The decline was attributed to <em>slowing demand<\/em>, <em>accelerating declines in new orders<\/em>, and a decrease in production for the first time in 10 months. Germany, the bloc&#39;s largest economy, recorded the weakest performance, while France surprisingly saw its manufacturing PMI jump to a 42-month high.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the manufacturing downturn, the <strong>Eurozone M3 Money Supply<\/strong> demonstrated resilience, increasing by <strong>3.0% year-on-year in November<\/strong>. This figure exceeded both the estimated 2.7% and the previous month&#39;s 2.8%. The M3 money supply is a broad measure of liquidity, including currency in circulation, deposits, and short-term marketable instruments.<\/p>\n<p>On the geopolitical front, Iran&#39;s Supreme Leader Adviser Ali Larijani issued a stark warning to the United States. He stated that any <strong>U.S. interference in Iran&#39;s ongoing protesting issue<\/strong> would be &quot;equivalent to chaos across the entire region&quot;. This statement followed President Donald Trump&#39;s warnings that Washington would intervene if Iran used lethal force against peaceful demonstrators amidst widespread protests over economic hardship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways The FTSE 100 index surged past the 10,000-point mark for the first time, kicking off 2026 with a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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