FTSE 100 Ends Lower; HSBC Names Chair

11:52 AM EST, 12/03/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.10% amid a volatile session on Wednesday despite a jump in mining stocks. Glencore (GLEN.L), Antofagasta (ANTO.L) and Anglo American (AAL.L) were some of the biggest gainers on the blue-chip index, jumping 6.31%, 4.91%, 2.49% at close. Glencore, which held its capital markets day, said it made "significant progress" on de-risking its portfolio of copper projects. "We have a clear pathway for our base copper business to exceed 1 million tonnes of annual production by the end of 2028, with a target to produce c. 1.6 million tonnes by 2035, which would make Glencore one of the largest copper producers in the world," according to Glencore Chief Executive Officer Gary Nagle. In other news, HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L) appointed interim Group Chair Brendan Nelson as its permanent chair. The bank was down 1.62%. On the economic front, UK private sector output growth eased in November amid modest increases in services activity and manufacturing production. The S&P Global UK PMI Composite Output Index stood at 51.2, compared with October's 52.2 and the flash estimate of 50.5. "Survey respondents widely commented on business challenges linked to fragile client confidence, heightened risk aversion and elevated policy uncertainty in the run up to the Budget," S&P Global Market Intelligence economics director Tim Moore said. "Many firms noted that major spending decisions had been delayed, while some also cited long-term growth headwinds from subdued investment spending."qa