European shares rally as tech leads gains; Britain’s FTSE 100 hits 10,000 points for first time

Britain's FTSE 100 index on Friday briefly surpassed the symbolic 10,000 points marker for the first time, extending gains after a bumper 2025.

The FTSE 100 index — home to the U.K.'s most valuable blue-chip companies — stood 0.5% higher to trade at 9,981 at 12:00 p.m. London time (7:00 a.m. Eastern time), kicking off the first trading day of the year in positive territory. The index surpassed the 10,000 threshold at around 8:30 a.m., before paring gains.

Analysts told CNBC late last year that while the speed of the FTSE 100′s rise to the 10,000-point level was notable, investors should remain wary.

"Passing any large round number on an index is psychologically important but the foundations for the move have to be solid for the new level to set a floor rather than act as a ceiling for the index," said Toni Meadows, head of investment at BRI Wealth Management.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index, meanwhile, rose 0.5%, with most sectors and major bourses in the green. The moves come as investors return from the New Year's Day holiday on Thursday and after stellar annual gains.

The Stoxx 600 index rose nearly 16% during 2025, notching its third consecutive year of gains, as it was led higher by banking stocks and a surge in regional defense spending.

Looking at individual stocks, shares of Danish energy group Orsted rose 3.6% after the world's largest developer of offshore wind farms said it had challenged the U.S. government's suspension of the lease for its Revolution Wind joint venture and would seek a court injunction.

Dutch semiconductor equipment makers Be Semiconductor and ASMI topped the index, up 9.6% and 6.1%, respectively, after the U.S. government granted an annual licence to the world's largest chip manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to import U.S. chip manufacturing equipment to its facilities in Nanjing, China, according to a Thursday Reuters report. CNBC has reached out to TSMC for comment.

Larger peer ASML, the most valuable company in Europe, rose 4%.

Mining and defense stocks were also among the top performers. Thyssenkrupp, Kongsberg Group, Saab, and Rolls-Royce were all up at least 3% during morning deals.

Elsewhere, precious metals continued their upward trend from last year. Spot gold prices rose 1.9% to $4,393.14 per ounce during European hours, while spot silver prices jumped over 4.3% to $74.31 per ounce.

Gold and silver notched their best annual performances since 1979 last year, supported by a multitude of factors, including the impact of U.S. interest rate cuts, tariff tensions, and robust demand from exchange-traded funds and central banks.

In Asia-Pacific trade, South Korea's Kospi climbed to a new record, while markets including Japan and mainland China remain closed for the holidays.

U.S. stock futures, meanwhile, traded higher. S&P futures, Nasdaq-100 futures, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were last seen between 0.4% and 1.1% higher.

— CNBC's Chloe Taylor contributed to this report.