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London stocks on the FTSE 100 rose sharply in early trade on Monday, taking their cue from gains in Asia as investors mulled the latest twists and turns in Trump’s tariff saga.
At 0822 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 1.6% at 8,093.98.
Sentiment got a boost after Trump said late on Friday that smartphones and computers were exempt from new tariffs.
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, however, Trump wrote: “There was no Tariff ‘exception’. These products are subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and they are just moving to a different Tariff ‘bucket.’”
He also said the administration was planning to launch an investigation into the semiconductor sector and the whole electronics supply chain.
Despite the conflicting messages, the tone in markets was upbeat.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown: “Just when it seemed the tariff chaos couldn’t get any worse, tech investors have spent the weekend scrambling to make sense of a whirlwind of confusing – and at times contradictory – messages coming out of the White House. Despite the drama, European markets have taken an easing stance on US tech components as a positive in a broad-based rally this morning, with the FTSE 100 up 1.5% in early trading.
“This time, it’s chips, smartphones, and other tech components taking centre stage. While there were early signs on Friday night that some broad exemptions might be in play, it turns out tariffs are still very much on the table. But here’s the twist: despite the messy rollout, what’s caught investors’ attention is the news that these products won’t be hit with the harsh China-specific tariffs. Instead, it looks like an existing 20% tariff will be applied – at least for now – while further decisions around how best to deal with this bucket of products go on in the background.
“The net effect is positive for tech, especially for giants like Apple, which could’ve seen their entire pricing strategy thrown into disarray under the proposed 145% China tariffs. Instead, this reprieve, and news that further tariffs will be a couple of months away, gives Apple time to build up its US inventory to cover the current iPhone sales cycle without needing knee-jerk price hikes. Decisions on pricing can then be made alongside the launch of its latest handset in September. It’s still a bit chaotic, but this is a better outcome for the tech sector than when we closed on Friday and, as a result, US futures are trading higher – even as volatility spikes yet again.”
In equity markets, Wood Group surged as it said that Dubai’s Sidara has made a non-binding conditional takeover proposal valuing the company at 35p per share that it would be minded to recommend.
The proposal also includes a possible capital injection of $450m from Sidara and would require Wood to seek an extension of its existing committed debt facilities.
Wood Group said: “Work continues on a range of alternative refinancing options. However, having carefully considered the viability of these options together with its financial advisers, the board of Wood currently believes that the possible offer represents the better option for Wood’s shareholders, creditors and other stakeholders.
“Accordingly, the board of Wood has indicated to Sidara that, should an offer be made on the terms set out above, it would be minded to recommend the offer to Wood’s shareholders, subject to agreement of the full terms and conditions of the offer.”
Elsewhere, medical products group Convatec shot to the top of the FTSE 100 as it said the sales outlook for InnovaMatrix has improved after an announcement by the US government late last week.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Friday postponed so-called local coverage determinations (LCDs) for certain products used to treat diabetic foot ulcers and venous leg ulcers, meaning that Medicare patients with those conditions will continue to benefit from access to InnovaMatrix.
As a result, the company lifted guidance for InnovaMatrix sales this year from $50m to $75m.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Smurfit Westrock Plc | +6.28% | +188.00 | 3,181.00 |
| 2 |  |
Bp Plc | +5.03% | +16.70 | 348.40 |
| 3 |  |
Carnival Plc | +4.39% | +52.50 | 1,249.50 |
| 4 |  |
Convatec Group Plc | +4.36% | +10.80 | 258.40 |
| 5 |  |
Barclays | +4.26% | +11.00 | 268.95 |
| 6 |  |
Ferguson Enterprises Inc. | +3.92% | +480.00 | 12,710.00 |
| 7 |  |
Glencore Plc | +3.82% | +9.70 | 263.35 |
| 8 |  |
Melrose Industries Plc | +3.80% | +15.40 | 420.40 |
| 9 |  |
Standard Chartered Plc | +3.80% | +35.80 | 978.80 |
| 10 |  |
South32 Limited | +3.72% | +4.80 | 134.00 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Rightmove Plc | -0.80% | -5.80 | 717.40 |
| 2 |  |
Ricoh Co Ltd | -0.00% | -0.00 | 981.88 |
| 3 |  |
Ck Infrastructure Holdings Limited | -0.00% | -0.00 | 473.00 |
| 4 |  |
Lloyds Grp Dr A | -0.00% | -0.00 | 109.50 |
| 5 |  |
Lloyds Grp Dr A | -0.00% | -0.00 | 108.00 |
| 6 |  |
Toyota Motor Corporation | +0.00% | +0.00 | 6,926.17 |
| 7 |  |
Barratt Redrow plc | +0.00% | +0.00 | 482.10 |
| 8 |  |
Woodside Energy Group Ltd | +0.00% | +0.00 | 1,260.00 |
| 9 |  |
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. | +0.00% | +0.00 | 6,320.00 |
| 10 |  |
Intermediate Capital Group Plc | +0.00% | +0.00 | 2,124.00 |
US close: Stocks higher after volatile week, JPMorgan jumps
US stocks ended Friday’s session with strong gains, capping off one of the most volatile weeks for Wall Street in recent history, as the sporadic nature of Donald Trump’s trade policies continued to steer market sentiment.
The Dow gained 1.6% to 40,213, the S&P 500 rose 1.8% to 5,363, while the Nasdaq jumped 2.1% to 16,725.
Despite the (shaky) comeback experienced over the past five days, the three indices each still remain around 5% below levels seen before Trump’s sweeping tariff barrage came into force on 2 April.
“It’s been a volatile couple of weeks for markets with the declines since the so-called tariff ‘Liberation Day’ punctuated with sharp rallies as markets react to tariff talk on both sides of the globe,” said analyst Michael Hewson from MCH Market Insights.
Tariffs remained in focus on Friday after Donald Trump paused his country-specific tariffs for 90 days, instead implementing a universal rate of 10%, with the notable exception of China which he slapped with a 145% levy.
China then retaliated by raising duties on US products to 125% from 84%. The Commerce Ministry announced the increase saying the country was ready to “fight to the end”. It added that “at the current tariff level, there is no market acceptance for US goods exported to China”.
However, the European Union, which had been planning retaliatory measures of its own, had on Thursday paused countermeasures for 90 days. “We want to give negotiations a chance,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Hewson said Trump’s 90-day pause “appears to have been in response to sharp moves in the Treasury market which has seen longer term yields spike higher”.
He added: “Even now there is little sign of a slowdown in this upward pressure on yields while the US dollar has sunk to a three-year low, as investors lighten their exposure to US assets, as confidence in its haven status comes under scrutiny in the wake of recent market turmoil.”
US data in focus
Consumer confidence in the US worsened again as short-term inflation expectations hit their highest level in nearly half a century. The University of Michigan’s consumer confidence index slipped from 57.0 at the end of March to 50.8, missing forecasts for a print of 54.5.
Meanwhile, wholesale prices in the States undershot market forecasts last month, partly as a result of a decline in energy costs. According to the Department of Labor, so-called final demand prices dropped at a month-on-month pace of 0.4% in March (consensus: 0.2%).
Bank earnings kick off
Shares in JPMorgan gained after the bank reported solid growth on both its top and bottom lines for the first quarter. Net income for the three months ending on 31 March jumped by 9% to reach approximately $14.64bn, with earnings per share coming in at $5.07 (consensus: $4.57), while net revenues rose 8% to $45.13bn.
Nonetheless, its boss, Jamie Dimon, noted the multiple headwinds that JPMorgan might face. “The economy is facing considerable turbulence (including geopolitics), with the potential positives of tax reform and deregulation and the potential negatives of tariffs and trade wars, ongoing sticky inflation, high fiscal deficits and still rather high asset prices and volatility,” he said.
Sector peers Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley all edged higher, while Wells Fargo finished in the red.
Automaker GM slipped after saying it would suspend production and lay off 500 workers at its EV plant in Ontario starting from next week.
EV giant Tesla also declined after Cox Automotive reported that, despite a 10.6% year-on-year jump in EV sales across the US in the first quarter, Tesla sales were down 8.6%.
Monday newspaper round-up: British Steel, Viagogo, tariffs
British Steel is to deploy emergency measures in a race against time to save the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, as the business secretary refused to guarantee the plant could get what it needed in time. The company is understood to be looking at offers of help from more than a dozen businesses to obtain materials such as iron ore and coking coal, potentially allowing it to avoid the temporary shutdown of one of the two furnaces. – Guardian
The ticket resale platform Viagogo has been accused of failing to prevent “misleading and potentially unlawful” practices on its platform, despite facing intense scrutiny as the government consults on new anti-touting laws. Ministers are weighing up plans to cap the price at which tickets can be resold, after Labour pledged in its election manifesto to tackle ticket touts using platforms such as Viagogo and StubHub to charge fans huge mark-ups for in-demand shows. – Guardian
Britain’s biggest businesses are preparing to slash hiring and scale back investment plans to stave off the threat posed by Donald Trump’s trade war. Plans are being drawn up for the deepest hiring cuts since 2020, according to Deloitte’s quarterly survey of finance chiefs, which will see workers bear the brunt of aggressive savings. To cope with the impact of the US president’s global tariffs, companies are set to water down planned pay rises to an average of 3pc, despite predicting that inflation will rise to 3.1pc over the course of next year. – Telegraph
The tariff regime for America’s technology giants was plunged into more chaos as Howard Lutnick, the US commerce secretary, backtracked on exemptions granted less than two days earlier. On Friday, President Trump’s administration excluded smartphones, computers and other electronic products, mostly sourced from China, from the 145 per cent tariffs on the country and the baseline 10 per cent import duty on goods from most other nations. – The Times
Neil Woodford, the discredited asset manager, has defended his Guernsey listings tactic and his controversial asset swap gambit which raised eyebrows in the months leading up to the collapse of his £17 billion empire. The fund manager, who is fighting a regulatory finding of failings in running the main Woodford Equity Income fund, responded for the first time to public questioning on some of the questionable stratagems he adopted to try to save his empire as clients defected in droves in 2019. – The Times
