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Stocks on the FTSE 100 were trading a tad lower in later morning trading while investors waited for the next trade headline to hit.
On Thursday, Washington had dropped hints that it could move to reduce its levies con Chinese goods as part of talks – but not unilaterally.
But investors were growing fatigued, as evidenced by mixed trading overnight in Asia.
“Chalk it up to whiplash fatigue: when the only constant is Trump’s inconsistency, price action starts looking like white noise again,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
As of 0906 GMT, the FTSE 100 was dipping by 0.24% or 20.36 points to 8.382,82, while the second-tier index was down by 0.42% or 81.41 points at 19,401.64.
Also of potentially key importance for the session were the weekly jobless claims data due out later in the States.
Investors were keen to assess whether – and to what extent – recent financial market turbulence was weighing on businesses’ hiring and firing decisions.
In the geopolitical space, overnight the US President criticised his Ukrainian counterpart for saying that his country would refuse to ever recognise the Crimean peninsula as Russian territory, explaining that a deal would not require that of Kyiv and labelling the remarks “inflammatory” given the current phase of talks.
There were also differences of criteria between Washington on the one side, and Ukraine and some of its European allies on the other, regarding how to sequence the next steps in efforts to reach a ceasefire.
Those disagreements over sequencing were reminiscent of the ones that preceded the failure of the Minsk II agreements.
At 1230 GMT, the US Department of Labor would release weekly jobless claims figures.
In parallel, the Department of Commerce would publish durable goods orders data for March.
Weir Group, Unilever deliver positive updates
Weir Group reported continued strong demand in the first quarter on Thursday, driven by high mining activity, with original equipment and aftermarket orders each rising 5% year-on-year. The FTSE 100 engineering services company highlighted positive momentum in orders for brownfield and sustainability projects, and noted improving aftermarket demand, particularly in minerals and ESCO products. It reiterated its full-year guidance, citing a robust order book, expected revenue and profit growth in constant currency, and free cash conversion of 90% to 100%.
Consumer goods conglomerate Unilever said it expected a “modest” improvement in underlying operating margin for the full year, versus 18.4% in 2024, adding that the impact of US tariffs would be “limited and manageable”. The company on Thursday reaffirmed annual guidance after reporting underlying sales growth of 3% for the first quarter.
Investment platform operator AJ Bell said on Thursday that its platform business had ended H1 with record assets under administration as it delivered “strong growth” in customer numbers. AJ Bell said its platform business reported a 13% increase in assets under administration at £90.4m, while customer numbers increased by 18% year-on-year in Q2 to close at 593,000, with total advised customers up 7% at 177,000 and total D2C customers increasing by 23% to 416,000. Gross inflows grew 18% to £4.0bn and net inflows improved 19% to £1.9bn.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Fresnillo | +2.64% | +26.00 | 1,011.00 |
| 2 |  |
Imperial Brands Plc | +1.46% | +44.00 | 3,057.00 |
| 3 |  |
Admiral Group Plc | +1.25% | +40.00 | 3,246.00 |
| 4 |  |
Aib Group Plc | +1.20% | +6.00 | 504.00 |
| 5 |  |
Airtel Africa Plc | +1.17% | +1.90 | 164.40 |
| 6 |  |
Tesco Plc | +1.12% | +4.00 | 361.70 |
| 7 |  |
Associated British Foods Plc | +1.10% | +24.00 | 2,204.00 |
| 8 |  |
Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc | +1.09% | +51.00 | 4,719.00 |
| 9 |  |
Weir Group Plc | +1.09% | +24.00 | 2,226.00 |
| 10 |  |
Bp Plc | +1.03% | +3.70 | 361.45 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Legal & General Group Plc | -5.62% | -14.10 | 237.00 |
| 2 |  |
Smurfit Westrock Plc | -2.97% | -95.00 | 3,103.00 |
| 3 |  |
Ferguson Enterprises Inc. | -2.49% | -310.00 | 12,140.00 |
| 4 |  |
Hsbc Holdings Plc | -2.21% | -18.70 | 826.50 |
| 5 |  |
Bunzl Plc | -2.10% | -50.00 | 2,336.00 |
| 6 |  |
Carnival Plc | -1.87% | -24.00 | 1,258.50 |
| 7 |  |
Crh Plc | -1.79% | -120.00 | 6,592.00 |
| 8 |  |
Rolls-royce | -1.68% | -12.20 | 715.60 |
| 9 |  |
Marks And Spencer Group Plc | -1.68% | -6.70 | 393.20 |
| 10 |  |
Wise Plc | -1.65% | -16.00 | 951.00 |
US close: Stocks higher on positive trade headlines
Major indices closed higher on Wednesday after Donald Trump revealed he did not intend to try to oust “major loser” Jerome Powell from his role as Federal Reserve chairman and that he would play “very nice” with China.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.07% at 39,606.57, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.67% to 5,375.86 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 2.50% firmer at 16,708.05.
The Dow closed 419.59 points higher on Wednesday, extending gains recorded in the previous session as news broke that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said there “will be a de-escalation” in the White House’s trade war with China.
“No one thinks the current status quo is sustainable,” he said. However, Bessent also stated that if America was to walk out the door of negotiations and sign “something in two or three years that looked like that”, he reckons that could be considered “a huge win”.
Trump also softened his stance on Beijing, admitting that the current 145% tariff on Chinese imports was “very high” and that while it “won’t be that high” and that “it’ll come down substantially”, he also said “it won’t be zero”. He also indicated that he did not see a need to “play hardball”.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that the White House was mulling over lowering Chinese tariffs to somewhere between 50% and 65%.
Major indices also got a boost after Trump said late on Tuesday that he has “no intention” of firing Powell, whose term will end in May 2026, despite stating the chairman’s “termination cannot come fast enough” just a day earlier.
On Wednesday’s macro slate, mortgage applications slumped 12.7% in the week ended 18 April, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, the sharpest decline since October 2024. Applications to purchase a home were down 7%, while applications to refinance a mortgage fell 20% week-on-week.
Elsewhere, a preliminary reading of S&P Global‘s composite purchasing managers index fell to 51.2 in April, down from 53.5 in March to mark the slowest private sector activity growth in 16 months, with the manufacturing PMI rising to 50.7 in April from 50.2 in March and the services PMI falling to 51.4 from 54.4 in the month prior.
On another note, new home sales surged by 7.4% in March to a seasonally adjusted annualised rate of 724,000, according to the Census Bureau.
In the corporate space, Philip Morris hiked its FY earnings forecasts on the back of solid sales of smoke-free products, while AT&T said Q1 revenues had grown 2% on the back of strong postpaid phone and fibre subscriber growth, and Boeing also reported better-than-expected Q1 figures but noted that China has stopped taking delivery of aircraft due to the current tariff environment.
Still on earnings, Chipotle fell short of revenue estimates and issued some more cautious guidance as it warned of a “slowdown” in spending and IBM posted quarterly sales of $14.5bn, topping Wall Street estimates.
Thursday newspaper round-up: UK Temu duty, chlorinated chicken, energy bills, AstraZeneca, EU mobility
British brands have warned they are being “doubly penalised” after DHL suspended deliveries to the US because of President Trump’s tariff war, which is loading extra costs and paperwork on to exporters. The logistics group temporarily halted shipments worth more than $800 to the United States for business-to-consumer deliveries on Monday as it scrambles to deal with added shipping complexities caused by White House policy changes on imports. – The Times
Rachel Reeves has ruled out any trade deal with the US that would put chlorinated chicken or hormone beef on British supermarket shelves. The Chancellor said food standards had “never been on the table” as Britain pursues an agreement with the Trump administration. Ms Reeves also insisted Britain was in no rush to sign an agreement as she ruled out imports of larger US trucks that failed to meet British safety standards, as well as amending online safety protections for children. – Telegraph
Britain’s most senior government ministers could soon be drawn into a deepening row over plans to charge some households higher electricity bills than others, as Ed Miliband prepares to decide on sweeping energy reforms. The energy secretary is understood to be close to making a decision on whether to move ahead with proposals to replace the country’s single electricity market with several market zones. – Guardian
The head of Britain’s largest drug company has demanded Europe ramp up spending on medicines amid fears over Donald Trump’s tariffs. Pascal Soriot, the chief executive of FTSE 100 giant AstraZeneca, said Europe was “falling behind” the US on drug spending and needed to boost investment to help protect its people from illness. – Telegraph
Keir Starmer is under pressure from more than 60 Labour MPs to allow thousands of young Europeans to live and work in the UK, a move seen as key to unlocking a more ambitious trade reset with Brussels. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said discussions on a potential scheme were ongoing, in the clearest hint yet that the government is preparing to do a deal. – Guardian
