Hot Features
Premium
Level up your trading with our powerful tools and real-time insights all in one place.
London stocks on the FTSE 100 rose in early trade on Tuesday as investors mulled the latest UK jobs data and encouraging comments from US vice president JD Vance about the potential for a trade deal.
At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 8,170.15.
Vance said in an interview on Monday with UnHerd that there is a “good chance” the UK and the US can secure a trade deal.
“We’re certainly working very hard with Keir Starmer’s government,” he said.
“The president really loves the United Kingdom. He loved the Queen. He admires and loves the King. It is a very important relationship. And he’s a businessman and has a number of important business relationships in [Britain]. But I think it’s much deeper than that.
“There’s a real cultural affinity. And, of course, fundamentally, America is an Anglo country.”
On the macro front, meanwhile, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the unemployment rate was steady in February, while wage growth remained high.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.4% in the three months to February.
The data also showed that growth in annual average weekly earnings excluding bonuses was 5.9%, slightly lower than consensus expectations for 6% growth. Growth in average earnings including bonuses was 5.6%, in line with expectations.
Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: “Regular pay growth remains strong having increased slightly in the latest period.
“Growth accelerated in the previous pay rises fully fed through to our headline figures, while pay in the private sector was little changed.
“The latest survey results estimate that the unemployment rate is unchanged on the previous three months, while separately the number of employees on payroll fell slightly over the same period.”
Ashley Webb, UK economist at Capital Economics, said: “Overall, while wage growth remains too high, the growing downside risks to inflation and activity from higher US tariffs may mean the Bank of England starts to become less worried about the upside risks to inflation from pay growth and more worried about the downside risks to activity.
“The risk is that interest rates are cut a bit faster than the fall from 4.50% now to 4.00% this year that we expect.”
In equity markets, Tate & Lyle rallied after saying it performed as expected in the fourth quarter and that its 2025 results will be in line with guidance.
FirstGroup was also in the black after it said that FY 2025 adjusted operating profit and adjusted earnings per share were set to be ahead of its previous expectations following a stronger financial performance in First Rail and an in-line performance at First Bus.
Discount retailer B&M European Value Retail racked up strong gains as it said adjusted operating profits should be above the mid-point of its guidance range for the year ended 29 March on the back of productivity gains and a pick-up in underlying sales growth in the fourth quarter.
Guidance for adjusted EBITDA was cut in February to £605m-625m, down from an earlier forecast of £620m to £650m.
In broker note action, Next was boosted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs, while JD sports was higher after an upgrade to ‘euqalweight’ at Barclays.
Domino’s Pizza was hit by a downgrade to ‘underweight’ at Barclays.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
3i Group Plc | +4.28% | +167.00 | 4,071.00 |
| 2 |  |
Fresnillo | +3.24% | +33.00 | 1,053.00 |
| 3 |  |
Segro Plc | +2.54% | +16.40 | 662.00 |
| 4 |  |
Bae Systems Plc | +2.54% | +43.00 | 1,736.00 |
| 5 |  |
Anglo American Plc | +2.28% | +45.20 | 2,032.00 |
| 6 |  |
Aviva Plc | +2.27% | +11.60 | 523.40 |
| 7 |  |
Rolls-royce | +2.20% | +15.60 | 725.20 |
| 8 |  |
Standard Chartered Plc | +2.18% | +21.60 | 1,011.00 |
| 9 |  |
Halma Plc | +2.08% | +54.00 | 2,656.00 |
| 10 |  |
Banco Santander S.a. | +2.01% | +10.00 | 508.00 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Diageo Plc | -1.94% | -41.00 | 2,068.00 |
| 2 |  |
South32 Limited | -0.88% | -1.20 | 134.40 |
| 3 |  |
Wise Plc | -0.68% | -6.50 | 948.50 |
| 4 |  |
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Plc | -0.64% | -5.60 | 875.40 |
| 5 |  |
Ferguson Enterprises Inc. | -0.55% | -70.00 | 12,580.00 |
| 6 |  |
Crh Plc | -0.49% | -32.00 | 6,534.00 |
| 7 |  |
Smurfit Westrock Plc | -0.45% | -14.00 | 3,131.00 |
| 8 |  |
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. | -0.16% | -10.00 | 6,280.00 |
| 9 |  |
Bt Group Plc | -0.15% | -0.25 | 165.20 |
| 10 |  |
Coca-cola Europacific Partners Plc | -0.15% | -10.00 | 6,690.00 |
US close: Stocks higher as tariff exemptions boost sentiment
Wall Street stocks closed higher on Monday as surprise tariff exemptions from Donald Trump boosted sentiment.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.78% at 40,524.79, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.79% to 5,405.97, and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.64% firmer at 16,831.48.
The Dow closed 312.08 points higher on Monday, extending gains recorded in the previous session as the blue-chip index wrapped up one of its most volatile trading weeks on record with solid gains.
US Customs and Border Protection revealed that smartphones and computers, as well as other devices and semiconductors, would be exempted from Donald Trump’s newly announced “reciprocal” tariffs, sending shares in the likes of Apple and Nvidia higher.
However, Trump and his Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick later indicated that the exemptions weren’t permanent, with Trump saying these products were still “subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs” and that they were “just moving to a different Tariff ‘bucket’.”
In the corporate space, investment banking giant Goldman Sachs said Q1 net revenues came to $15.06bn in Q1, surpassing expectations of $14.8bn, while net earnings grew 15% to $4.74bn.
Elsewhere, Intel agreed to sell 51% of its Altera business to private equity firm Silver Lake in a deal that values the unit at $8.75bn.
No major data points were released on Monday.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: UK business confidence, Nvidia, Vistry
UK business confidence has fallen to the lowest level for more than two years amid growing concern over tax rises and Donald Trump’s escalating trade war, according to a survey. Highlighting the risks to the economy, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) said the first quarter of the year had been “harrowing” for companies across Britain. – Guardian
Senior Labour figures have urged the government to review Chinese investment in UK infrastructure in the wake of the British Steel crisis, warning that a rapprochement with Beijing could risk national security. Government officials insisted on Monday the country remained open to funding from Chinese companies even after a dramatic weekend during which ministers wrested control of the Scunthorpe steelmaking plant from the Chinese owners, Jingye. – Guardian
Writing in The Telegraph this month, the Prime Minister said that he would “use industrial policy to help shelter British business from the storm” as Donald Trump unleashed tariffs on the global economy. Sir Keir Starmer went on to criticise those who might find this approach “uncomfortable”, arguing such a reaction was nothing more than clinging to “old sentiments”. – Telegraph
Nvidia has announced plans to build its first supercomputer factories in the US as Donald Trump demands companies stop manufacturing overseas. The chipmaker, which is one of the world’s most valuable companies, said it would set up more than 1m sq ft of manufacturing space as part of a pledge to build $500bn (£380bn) of AI infrastructure in the US over the next four years. – Telegraph
The chief executive of Goldman Sachs has become the latest Wall Street boss to sound the alarm over President Trump’s tariffs, warning that the tit-for-tat trade war poses “material risks” to the US and world economy. David Solomon, who runs one of the world’s biggest investment banks, said on Monday that “the level of uncertainty is up significantly”. – The Times
Britain’s biggest housebuilder spent almost £14 million last year renting forklift trucks from a plant hire business chaired by its chief executive. Vistry paid £13.8 million to Ardent Hire Solutions in 2024, almost double the £7.9 million it spent in 2023 and accounting for about a fifth of Ardent’s annual turnover. – The Times
