Hot Features
Premium
Trade like a pro: Leverage real-time discussions and market-moving ideas to outperform.
London stocks on the FTSE 100 rose in early trade on Tuesday, recovering from heavy losses in the previous session driven by worries about Trump’s tariff threats.
At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.8% at 8,655.26, having closed down 0.9% on Monday.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: “What a difference a day makes, European stocks have bounced at the start of the new quarter and indices are a sea of green.
“The focus is on the US reciprocal tariff announcement that is due tomorrow. At this stage, hopes are that a recovery rally could take hold if Trump’s tariff announcements are seen as the final move from the White House in its trade war, and if the new levies are reasonably easy to comply with.
“The downside risk for stocks could emerge once more if Trump suggests that even more tariffs could be coming down the line or if there is a lack of clarity about reciprocal tariffs in the announcement. Markets are hoping for a clean decision, that allows traders to move on from tariffs.”
On home shores, data from Nationwide showed that house prices stagnated in March and are likely to remain “a little soft” in the coming months due to stamp duty changes.
House prices were up 3.9% on the year in March, unchanged on February. On the month, prices were flat, having risen 0.4% in February.
The average price of a home stood at £271,316 last month, versus £270,493 in February.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “These price trends are unsurprising, given the end of the stamp duty holiday at the end of March (transactions associated with mortgage approvals made in March, especially toward the end of the month, would be unlikely to complete before the deadline).
“Indeed, the market is likely to remain a little soft in the coming months since activity will have been brought forward to avoid the additional tax obligations – a pattern typically observed in the wake of the end of stamp duty holidays.
“Nevertheless, activity is likely to pick up steadily as the summer progresses, despite wider economic uncertainties in the global economy, since underlying conditions for potential home buyers in the UK remain supportive.”
Investors were also mulling the latest data from the British Retail Consortium, which showed that shop prices slipped in March as retailers held back from hiking rates.
Prices at UK tills declined by 0.2% last month following a 0.4% increase in February, the monthly BRC-NielsenIQ Shop Price Index showed, with non-food prices falling 0.2% and food prices holding steady.
However, compared with March 2024, overall shop prices fell 0.4%, following a 0.7% year-on-year decline the month before. While annual food inflation accelerated to 2.4% from 2.1%, non-food deflation eased to -1.9% from -2.1%.
Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at NielsenIQ, said increased competition and seasonal promotions were the reason for the overall drop in prices last month, as retailers compete to lure in “reluctant shoppers”.
“With upwards pressure on prices, retailers may also need some focussed price cuts to help footfall in the run up to the late Easter,” he said.
In equity markets, banks were among the top performers, with Barclays, HSBC and NatWest all higher.
Irish convenience food manufacturer Greencore surged as it lifted its full-year profit outlook following a strong second quarter.
Spire Healthcare advanced after saying it had bought Acorn Occupational Health for £3.3m.
In broker note action, AJ Bell was boosted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Deutsche Bank.
Travis Perkins tanked as the builders’ merchant said it barely broke even in 2024 as it had to contend with falling volumes and prices and an underperforming merchanting business, as well as £139m in impairment charges.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Wise Plc | +4.71% | +44.50 | 989.50 |
| 2 |  |
Rolls-royce | +2.94% | +22.00 | 771.00 |
| 3 |  |
Barclays | +2.57% | +7.40 | 295.20 |
| 4 |  |
Halma Plc | +2.36% | +61.00 | 2,642.00 |
| 5 |  |
Intermediate Capital Group Plc | +2.35% | +46.00 | 2,000.00 |
| 6 |  |
Banco Santander S.a. | +2.33% | +12.00 | 527.00 |
| 7 |  |
Aib Group Plc | +2.31% | +11.50 | 510.00 |
| 8 |  |
Rentokil Initial Plc | +2.30% | +8.00 | 355.60 |
| 9 |  |
Bae Systems Plc | +2.24% | +35.00 | 1,594.50 |
| 10 |  |
Bhp Group Limited | +2.22% | +41.00 | 1,889.50 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Tesco Plc | -1.32% | -4.40 | 327.90 |
| 2 |  |
National Grid Plc | -0.84% | -8.50 | 1,001.00 |
| 3 |  |
Imperial Brands Plc | -0.70% | -20.00 | 2,845.00 |
| 4 |  |
Informa Plc | -0.68% | -5.20 | 764.20 |
| 5 |  |
Smith & Nephew Plc | -0.46% | -5.00 | 1,080.00 |
| 6 |  |
Sse Plc | -0.41% | -6.50 | 1,587.50 |
| 7 |  |
Bp Plc | -0.37% | -1.60 | 434.50 |
| 8 |  |
Shell Plc | -0.30% | -8.50 | 2,816.50 |
| 9 |  |
Coca-cola Hbc Ag | -0.17% | -6.00 | 3,498.00 |
| 10 |  |
Coca-cola Europacific Partners Plc | -0.15% | -10.00 | 6,730.00 |
US close: Stocks end Q1’s final session mostly higher
Major indices turned in a mixed performance on Monday as market participants patiently awaited clarity on Donald Trump’s planned tariff measures.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.00% at 42,001.76, while the S&P 500 gained 0.55% to 5,611.85 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.14% weaker at 17,299.29.
The Dow closed 417.86 points higher on the final day of both March and Q1, taking a bite out of losses recorded in the previous session as traders braced for Trump’s new 25% auto levy to come into effect on Wednesday, which he has branded “Liberation Day”.
Trump did little to quell fears over the weekend, with the US president reportedly pushing his advisors to be even more aggressive with their tariff plans, according to the Wall Street Journal. Trump also said he “couldn’t care less” if foreign automakers raised prices as a result of his new tariffs.
He also stated the levies would take aim at all countries, as opposed to just the 10-15 countries that have a trade imbalance with the US, and vowed that tariffs would remain in place for the entirety of his second term. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that it was “time for reciprocity” and a president to take “historic change” to do “what’s right for the American people”.
On the macro front, the Chicago Federal Reserve‘s March purchasing managers’ index rose to 47.6 in March, up from 45.5 in February and better than the 45.2 reading expected on the Street.
Elsewhere, the Dallas Fed‘s manufacturing business index decreased to -16.3 in March, down from 8.3 in February.
No major corporate earnings were released on Monday.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Household bills, OpenAI, BBC
Millions of households are bracing themselves for a raft of price increases across a range of bills – from energy and water to car tax and the TV licence – that take effect on Tuesday. With so many costs rising at once – prompting some to label this month “awful April” – the government is facing fresh calls to take action to limit the impact of some of the increases. The Liberal Democrats claimed ministers needed to “get a grip” on energy bills. – Guardian
OpenAI said it had raised $40bn in a funding round that valued the ChatGPT maker at $300bn – the biggest capital-raising session ever for a startup. It comes in a partnership with the Japanese investment group SoftBank and “enables us to push the frontiers of AI research even further,” OpenAI announced, adding it would “pave the way toward AGI (artificial general intelligence)” for which “massive computing power is essential”. – Guardian
The BBC is to spend £150m less on new shows in the coming year as it warned of an “unprecedented” funding challenge for British television. The public service broadcaster said it plans to spend just over £2.5bn on programming in the current financial year, down from almost £2.7bn last year. It follows industry-wide warnings of a funding crisis for British programmes amid growing competition from streaming rivals such as Netflix. – Telegraph
Almost £8bn has been wiped off the value of the world’s biggest drugmakers after America’s leading vaccine official was ousted by Robert F Kennedy Jr. Shares in Moderna, Pfizer and GSK all fell on Monday amid concerns over the shock exit of Dr Peter Marks from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Moderna tumbled by as much as 13pc in early trade in New York, while Pfizer was down by 1.5pc. In London, AstraZeneca and GSK were also down by 2pc respectively. Shares in Taysha Gene Thepies, Solid Biosciences and Sarepta Theraputics also fell. – Telegraph
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group believes there are “no more major hurdles to overcome” before it can begin operating trains through the Channel Tunnel after the rail regulator said there was enough space for rival operators to use Eurostar’s London depot. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said that Temple Mills maintenance depot in northeast London would be able to accommodate additional trains after its receipt of an independent report on the issue. – The Times
