UK stocks hit record on commodity surge; Microsoft shares slide on Wall Street

LONDON — Britain’s benchmark FTSE 100 index climbed to a new record high of 12,259 points, fueled by a surge in oil and mining stocks as commodity prices jumped.

Brent crude oil surpassed $71 per barrel, marking its highest level since last August. The price spike followed escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran, with President Trump warning that time is running out to reach a nuclear deal.

Concerns over potential supply disruptions lifted shares of energy giants Shell and BP. Meanwhile, mining companies including Antofagasta and Glencore saw gains as copper prices hit a record high of over $14,000 per ton and gold topped $5,500 per ounce.

In contrast to the gains in London, Microsoft shares plunged 10% at the opening bell on Wall Street. While the company reported revenue and profit that exceeded expectations, investors reacted to slowing growth in its critical cloud computing division.

The Federal Reserve opted to leave interest rates unchanged in its latest decision. The move had little impact on the broader market.

Market activity on January 29 underscored a widening rift between the "Old" and "New" economies, as sector-specific tailwinds and structural headwinds bifurcated performance across global indices. On one side of the ledger, the resource-heavy FTSE 100 continues to reap the benefits of commodity inflation and persistent geopolitical instability. Heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran—reminiscent of the volatility seen during the Trump administration—have successfully priced a "risk premium" back into the oil markets, driving significant gains for energy majors such as BP and Shell. Simultaneously, gold has reaffirmed its status as a premier safe-haven asset, rallying against a softening U.S. dollar and a backdrop of increasingly unpredictable domestic policy.

Conversely, the 10% slide in Microsoft shares served as a sobering "reality check" for Silicon Valley. Despite CEO Satya Nadella’s optimistic outlook on Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration, investors pivoted sharply toward decelerating growth in the company’s core cloud computing division. The sell-off suggests that the initial phase of AI-driven euphoria is cooling, replaced by a more rigorous demand for fundamental performance. For the tech sector, record-breaking bottom lines are no longer sufficient to mask weaknesses in legacy profit centers; the market now requires sustainable growth alongside visionary narratives.

Perhaps most telling was Wall Street’s tepid reaction to the Federal Reserve’s latest signaling. The indifference suggests that the locus of market anxiety has shifted. Investors appear less concerned with the nuances of monetary policy and are instead prioritizing geopolitical risk profiles and the underlying operational health of the corporate sector as the primary barometers for the year ahead.

The surge in oil prices will lead to higher costs at the pump, directly squeezing the bottom line for small businesses—from nail salons to phở restaurants—and increasing daily commuting expenses for families. Furthermore, heightened stock market volatility may impact personal investment portfolios and retirement funds.