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London stocks on the FTSE 100 were steady in early trade as the UK avoided the doubling of US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports that has come into effect on Wednesday.
At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was flat at 8,783.71.
US President Donald Trump said in a statement that for now, the UK will be spared the 50% tariff that comes into effect. He said he had decided to “provide different treatment” to the UK following the trade agreement struck in May.
The levy for the UK remains at 25%.
Investors were also mulling the latest developments in US-China relations after Trump said in a Truth Social post that China’s leader Xi Jinping was “very tough, and extremely hard to make a deal with”. The two sides are due to hold talks this week.
On the macro front, the S&P Global UK services PMI for May is due at 0930 BST.
In equity markets, Babcock jumped as JPMorgan placed the shares on “positive catalyst watch” ahead of results on 25 June as it said the defence firm could raise guidance. It said Babcock is “one of the big winners” in the UK Strategic Defence Review published on Monday.
Discoverie, Paragon Banking and Ninety One all rose after results.
On the downside, discount retailer B&M European Value Retail slumped as it reported a slight rise in full-year earnings against a “challenging” economic backdrop. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 0.6% to £620m, while revenue grew 3.7% to £5.57bn.
Real estate group Hammerson fell as it announced that its chief executive of five years, Rita-Rose Gagné, has decided to step down from her role in 2026.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Antofagasta Plc | +3.12% | +56.00 | 1,849.50 |
| 2 |  |
Melrose Industries Plc | +2.75% | +13.00 | 486.50 |
| 3 |  |
South32 Limited | +2.26% | +3.20 | 144.60 |
| 4 |  |
Glencore Plc | +2.12% | +6.00 | 288.70 |
| 5 |  |
Ferguson Enterprises Inc. | +2.03% | +310.00 | 15,550.00 |
| 6 |  |
Anglo American Plc | +1.90% | +41.50 | 2,221.50 |
| 7 |  |
Diageo Plc | +1.33% | +26.50 | 2,017.00 |
| 8 |  |
Experian Plc | +1.31% | +48.00 | 3,720.00 |
| 9 |  |
Fresnillo | +1.21% | +15.00 | 1,252.00 |
| 10 |  |
International Consolidated Airlines Group S.a. | +1.17% | +3.90 | 338.10 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Gen.acc.8se.pf | -29.03% | -45.00 | 110.00 |
| 2 |  |
Gen.acc.7se.pf | -18.82% | -25.50 | 110.00 |
| 3 |  |
Aib Group Plc | -2.33% | -14.00 | 586.00 |
| 4 |  |
Marks And Spencer Group Plc | -1.25% | -4.70 | 369.90 |
| 5 |  |
Imperial Brands Plc | -1.20% | -34.00 | 2,795.00 |
| 6 |  |
Haleon | -1.14% | -4.60 | 400.50 |
| 7 |  |
Auto Trader Group Plc | -1.12% | -9.00 | 791.20 |
| 8 |  |
Aviva Plc | -1.10% | -6.80 | 609.40 |
| 9 |  |
Centrica Plc | -0.82% | -1.35 | 162.65 |
| 10 |  |
Phoenix Group Holdings Plc | -0.77% | -5.00 | 640.50 |
US close: Dollar General, tech stocks lift markets
US equity markets rose on Tuesday despite a mixed batch of economic data, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting their highest in three and a half months, as tech stocks put in a decent performance while Dollar General surged.
Investors were even shrugging off the news that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development had decided to cut its US growth outlook, stating it now sees the US economy expanding by just 1.6%, down from its previous estimate of 2.2%.
Ongoing uncertainty surrounding trade tensions between the US and China kept stocks rangebound in pre-market trading, but all three Wall Street benchmarks extended gains by the close of play.
The Dow rose 0.5% to 42,519.64, the S&P 500 gained 0.6% to 5,970.37, while the Nasdaq jumped 0.8% to 19,398.96. These were the highest closes for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq since the final week of February.
“Some investors/traders are not entirely convinced that the ongoing tariff dispute, let alone renewed concerns over global debt levels, justifies an attempt to drive the US majors to fresh all-time highs. Yet as has happened on so many occasions, investors seem relaxed enough to look past such issues in the firm belief that better times are just around the corner,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.
“This, like ‘buy the dip’, has proved to be a winning strategy time and time again. The trouble is there are occasions when it hasn’t worked,” he said.
In economic data, factory orders dropped 3.7% in April after a 3.4% jump in March, worse than the 3% fall expected by the market. This was the biggest slump in new orders for manufacturing since January 2024.
Meanwhile, job openings totalled 7.391m in April, up from 7.192m in March, rebounding from a six-month low to beat the consensus estimate of 7.10m. Large increases were reported in retail (+46,000), professional and business services (+171,000), health and social care (+102,000), and in arts, entertainment and recreation (+43,000).
“Increased private sector job openings but the first decline in five months in US factory orders seem to have balanced each other out with investors looking ahead to Friday’s non-farm payrolls,” said Axel Rudolph, senior technical analyst at IG.
Market movers
Dollar General shares were up 16% after the discount retailer reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings and raised its full-year guidance. The suburban and rural-focussed general goods retailer said it now expected 2025 financial year net sales growth of 3.7% to 4.7%, up from a prior range of 3.4% to 4.4%, and same-store sales growth of 1.5% to 2.5%, compared to an earlier forecast of 1.2% to 2.2%.
Chip giants Nvidia and Broadcom were putting in solid gains, while heavyweights Apple, Intel and Microsoft also rose.
Constellation Energy finished flat despite striking a 20-year deal to sell nuclear power to Meta Platforms. Meanwhile Ford was in the green on the back of news that sales had surged 16.3% in May.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Tariffs, Rockfire Investment Finance, housebuilding target
The White House has signalled that the UK will be spared the 50% steel and aluminium tariffs which came into effect on Wednesday. In a statement, the US president, Donald Trump, said he had decided to “provide different treatment” to the UK after a deal that was struck between Washington and London last month. The executive order signed by Trump on Tuesday evening will still raise import taxes for US firms buying from other countries. – Guardian
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched an investigation into Rockfire Investment Finance, which became embroiled in a financial scandal over how a UK council invested more than £100m into solar farms. The UK’s anti-corruption agency said it had “issued a series of section 2 notices compelling financial institutions to provide information on its newly opened investigation into alleged fraud committed against Thurrock council”. – Guardian
The BBC director general has called for a higher licence fee after taking aim at a decade of “grinding” cuts. Tim Davie said he was open to reform of the fee and its enforcement, but made it clear that he wanted more money from the public to enable investment. He said: “I do want universal funding and I want proper investment and not begrudging, grinding cuts to the BBC, which you’ve had in the last 10 years, which have just not helped.” – Telegraph
Council staff shortages are causing “serious” delays and putting Angela Rayner’s housebuilding target in jeopardy, builders have warned. The Home Builders Federation (HBF) said a “staffing crisis” at local authorities had led to mounting delays that are holding up projects across the country. – Telegraph
A Cambridge-based surgical robotics company backed by a series of global investors is pursuing a possible sale of the business for about $4 billion. CMR Surgical, which recently raised a further $200 million from existing backers after a regulatory breakthrough in the United States, has hired advisers to consider its options. – The Times
