Hot Features
Premium
Level up your trading with our powerful tools and real-time insights all in one place.
A nine-day winning streak for the FTSE 100 came to an end on Friday morning, with markets flatlining following a near-10% surge over the past two weeks on the back of optimism regarding US trade talks and Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.
The FTSE 100 was trading down 0.1% at 8,403 in early deals, after closing at its highest since 3 April on Thursday.
“Stocks have enjoyed a much better week overall as talk of firing Powell has receded and the US strikes a more conciliatory tone with China,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.
“But with so many companies warning of tougher times to come, the current bounce could be just one of those famed ‘bear market rallies’, which stage a huge rebound before giving way to bigger losses as bad news begins to bite.”
Helping recent gains were rumours that China is considering suspending its 125% retaliatory tariffs on select US imports, raising hopes that the two nations could come to a deal, while US-Japan trade talks were said to be promising.
However, reports from Xinhua News Agency early on Friday suggested that China was preparing contingency plans – such as monetary and policy tools to boost the economy amid the deepening trade war – as Beijing continues to dismiss US reports that the two sides were closing in on a trade deal.
Nevertheless, Fed rate-cut chatter has lifted sentiment in recent days after policymakers Christopher Waller and Beth Hammack both indicated that they would be happy to loosen monetary policy earlier than anticipated if economic data worsens – with market pricing for a June rate cut increasing.
“The rally isn’t just about the Fed blinking. Asia is waking up to a possible ceasefire in the trade war, and that’s adding fuel to the fire. For the first time in weeks, traders have something real to price into the tape,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
Back on home shores, economic data out on Friday showed that UK consumer confidence softened notably in April as concerns about the health of the economy mounted. The latest GfK Consumer Confidence Barometer was -23, down four points on both March and on April 2024, and the lowest level since November 2023. Within that, all-sub measures were lower, although the sharpest falls related to the economy. Expectations for the general economic situation over the next 12 months fell eight points to -37.
Mobico tanks
Transport company Mobico dropped 16% after saying annual earnings would be at the lower end of guidance following the sale of its North America school bus business to global infrastructure investment manager I Squared Capital for up to $608m (£457m).
Precious metals miners Fresnillo, Endeavour and Hochschild fell as gold prices continued to retreat from recent record highs.
Companies with heavy exposure to the US were performing well early on, including building materials group CRH, gambling outfit Entain, and pest control giant Rentokil Initial.
Meanwhile, Shell edged higher on the news that it is to exit three offshore gas projects in Colombia.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Ck Infrastructure Holdings Limited | +4.65% | +23.00 | 518.00 |
| 2 |  |
Crh Plc | +3.46% | +234.00 | 6,992.00 |
| 3 |  |
Melrose Industries Plc | +3.41% | +14.10 | 427.90 |
| 4 |  |
Banco Santander S.a. | +2.65% | +14.00 | 543.00 |
| 5 |  |
Rentokil Initial Plc | +2.52% | +8.50 | 346.40 |
| 6 |  |
Rolls-royce | +2.26% | +16.60 | 751.80 |
| 7 |  |
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd | +1.99% | +70.00 | 3,584.00 |
| 8 |  |
Smurfit Westrock Plc | +1.90% | +60.00 | 3,210.00 |
| 9 |  |
Bae Systems Plc | +1.64% | +27.50 | 1,706.00 |
| 10 |  |
Intercontinental Hotels Group Plc | +1.54% | +120.00 | 7,900.00 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Unilever Plc | -2.07% | -99.00 | 4,692.00 |
| 2 |  |
Rightmove Plc | -2.06% | -15.00 | 714.80 |
| 3 |  |
South32 Limited | -1.52% | -2.00 | 129.40 |
| 4 |  |
Diageo Plc | -1.38% | -29.00 | 2,067.00 |
| 5 |  |
Anglo American Plc | -1.30% | -28.00 | 2,127.00 |
| 6 |  |
Antofagasta Plc | -1.24% | -21.00 | 1,669.00 |
| 7 |  |
Weir Group Plc | -1.22% | -28.00 | 2,274.00 |
| 8 |  |
Marks And Spencer Group Plc | -1.14% | -4.50 | 390.00 |
| 9 |  |
Fresnillo | -1.10% | -11.00 | 993.00 |
| 10 |  |
Severn Trent Plc | -0.99% | -27.00 | 2,693.00 |
US close: Stocks hit three-week high after third straight gain
US stocks gained strongly for third straight day on Thursday, with decent performances in the tech sector providing a big boost, as hopes continued to rise that trade tensions between the US and China were cooling.
The Dow rose 1.2%, the S&P 500 gained 2.0% while the Nasdaq surged 2.7% – with the latter two indices finishing at their highest levels since 2 April, the day when the Trump administration unveiled sweeping tariffs on America’s trading partners.
Markets have been clawing back after a volatile few weeks after Donald Trump said that he would play “very nice” with China. The remarks followed comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent who said earlier in the week that the US had the “opportunity for a big deal” on trade.
However, China claimed that no trade talks are currently taking place with the US, and that “all sayings” regarding progress between the two nations should be disregarded. Beijing also stated that in order for any talks to commence, the Trump administration would have to cancel all “unilateral” tariffs.
Nevertheless, market sentiment was being supported by Trump’s comments on Tuesday that he would not try to oust “major loser” Jerome Powell from his role as Federal Reserve chairman, quashing concerns that potential White House involvement at the central bank would raise economic uncertainty.
Meanwhile, there was plenty of US economic data for investors to seek their teeth into: jobless claims edged higher, durable goods surged more than expected, while existing home sales slumped.
Market movers
PepsiCo‘s first-quarter earnings missed Wall Street estimates on Thursday, even as its revenue performance topped projections. The soft drinks giant also lowered its full-year forecast for core constant currency earnings per share as a result of new tariffs, economic volatility and a more cautious consumer.
Tech stocks were generally performing well, with heavyweights Apple, Amazon.com, Nvidia and Microsoft providing a lift.
IBM was bucking the trend, however, after gloomy comments from chief executive Arvind Krishna, who said macro uncertainty might prompt a “wait-and-see approach” from customers. While quarterly results beat forecasts, the company revealed that 15 of its government contracts were lost due to DOGE-related cost-cutting.
A host of other companies were making moves after releasing quarterly figures: Procter & Gamble dropped after lowering full-year guidance, while American Airlines gained after posting a smaller-than-estimated loss, and ServiceNow and Lam Research impressed with forecast-beating profits.
Economic data
On the macro front, the Department of Labor reported that initial jobless claims rose by 6,000 to 222,000 last week, in line with market expectations, while continuing claims unexpectedly fell by 37,000 to a two-month low of 1.84m. The four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, decreased by 750 to 220,250.
US durable goods orders surged 9.2% in March to $315.73bn as Boeing ramped up its production cadence, according to the Department of Commerce. This was well ahead of the 0.9% increase seen in February and the 2% growth expected by the market. However, excluding those from the transportation sector, orders were roughly flat at $191.12bn.
US existing home sales declined 5.6% month-on-month to a seasonally adjusted annualised rate of 4.02m in March, according to the National Association of Realtors, despite a slight pullback in benchmark borrowing costs in the period. The consensus estimate was for a 3% decrease.
Elsewhere, the Chicago Federal Reserve’s national activity index fell to -0.03 in March, down from +0.24 in February, indicating that regional growth was weaker than the long-term average. Two of the four broad categories of indicators decreased month-on-month, while three categories made negative contributions.
Friday newspaper round-up: Apple, South Korea, Drax…
Apple plans to shift the assembly of all US-sold iPhones to India as soon as next year, according to people familiar with the matter, as President Donald Trump’s trade war forces the tech giant to pivot away from China. The push builds on Apple’s strategy to diversify its supply chain but goes further and faster than investors appreciate, with a goal to source from India the entirety of the more than 60mn iPhones sold annually in the US by the end of 2026. – Financial Times
The White House has hinted that its first trade deal could be with South Korea, saying that the talks are progressing faster than it expected. Scott Bessent, the US Treasury secretary, said that technical negotiations with South Korea will start next week. Speaking at the White House, he said: “We had a very successful bilateral meeting with the Republic of South Korea today. – The Times
A government spending watchdog has questioned the value of the multi-billion pound subsidies granted to the Drax power plant in North Yorkshire – and said that plans to hand over billions more may not represent value for money. The government has provided about £22bn of public money to businesses and households that burn biomass pellets as fuel over the past three years, including £6.5bn for the owner of the Drax plant. – The Guardian
Donald Trump has turned on Rupert Murdoch after Fox News published a poll suggesting the US president’s approval rating has slumped to a fresh low. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said: “Rupert Murdoch has told me for years that he is going to get rid of his FoxNews, Trump Hating, Fake Pollster, but he has never done so. This ‘pollster’ has gotten me, and MAGA, wrong for years.” Fox News this week published a poll which placed the president’s approval rating at just 44pc as he approaches 100 days of his second term in office. – The Telegraph
BlackRock, the world’s largest investor, has been buying billions of pounds of UK assets that it believes are “undervalued”. Larry Fink, chairman and chief executive of BlackRock, has revealed that the fund manager has been building positions in UK assets “across the board” having been reassured by the early rhetoric from the government of Sir Keir Starmer. – The Times
Water companies have been getting away with failures to improve sewage works and overspending because of regulatory problems, a damning report by the government’s spending watchdog has found. Firms have overspent on infrastructure building, the National Audit Office (NAO) found, with some of these costs being added to consumers’ bills. The Guardian this week reported Ofwat and the independent water commission are investigating water firms for spending up to 10 times as much on their sewage works and piping as comparable countries. – The Guardian
