9th May 2025 07:45
(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 is called to open higher on Friday, on optimism that a UK-US trade agreement could pave the way for a similar pact with China, to ease the hit from tariffs.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are set to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Switzerland on Saturday and Sunday, marking the first talks between the superpowers since Trump unveiled his tariffs.
US President Donald Trump told reporters that he thought the negotiations would be "substantive" and when asked if reducing the levies was a possibility, he said "it could be".
"Asian stocks trended broadly upwards overnight as attention turns to this weekend's trade talks with China. Donald Trump's hinted there may be some scope to reduce the 145% border tax on Chinese goods if discussions go well. So far, the measures haven't done huge damage to China's economy," Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Derren Nathan commented.
"Exports from the People's Republic grew 8.1% in April much higher than the 1.9% expected. But, notably, shipments to the US were down 2.5%. That cuts both ways with imports from America falling 4.7%, reflecting the 125% tariff imposed by Beijing. But US relations with China aren't quite as friendly as they are with Whitehall and there's speculation that these negotiations could be more protracted."
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
----------
MARKETS
----------
FTSE 100: called up 0.3% at 8,560.41
----------
Hang Seng: up 0.2% at 22,829.96
Nikkei 225: up 1.4% at 37,455.32
S&P/ASX 200: up 0.5% at 8,231.20
----------
DJIA: closed up 254.48 points, 0.6%, at 41,368.45
S&P 500: closed up 0.6% at 5,663.94
Nasdaq Composite: closed up 1.1% at 17,928.14.
----------
EUR: lower at USD1.1241 (USD1.1265)
GBP: lower at USD1.3237 (USD1.3295)
USD: higher at JPY145.36 (JPY145.15)
GOLD: lower at USD3,323.72 per ounce (USD3,340.18)
(Brent): higher at USD63.19 a barrel (USD62.75)
(changes since previous London equities close)
----------
ECONOMICS
----------
Friday's key economic events still to come:
11:00 BST Ireland industrial production
09:40 BST UK Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey speaks
----------
A late Easter and the Spring bloom led UK retail footfall to rise in April, data released Friday showed.
The British Retail Consortium-Sensormatic footfall index showed total UK footfall increased by 7.2% on-year in April compared to a 5.4% decline in March. Of the total, high street rose 5.3% on-year in April from a 4.0% decline in March. Retail park footfall increased by 7.5% on-year from negative 1.2% in March. Shopping centre footfall improved by 5.6% in April, up from negative 5.8% in March. Regionally, footfall increased year-on-year across all nations: 6.7% in England, 6.9% in Scotland, 14% in Wales, and 14% in Northern Ireland. Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium Helen Dickinson said: "A late Easter and some welcome rays of sunshine encouraged shoppers to head out to their local shopping destinations in April. Adjusting for the late fall of Easter this year, footfall across March and April showed a small but positive trend, with retail parks continuing to perform the strongest out of all locations. This reflected the unseasonally warm and bright weather right across the UK. In England, the North East saw particularly strong growth in footfall, with Manchester and Liverpool both recording double-digit improvements in footfall. Retailers will be hoping this momentum continues into the summer months."
----------
A "historic" UK-US trade deal will save thousands of jobs in the car and steel industries which have been threatened by Donald Trump's tariffs, Keir Starmer said. The trade agreement was confirmed in a call between the prime minister and the US president which was broadcast live on both sides of the Atlantic. US import taxes which had threatened to cripple British high-end carmakers were cut from 27.5% to 10%, while the 25% tariff on steel has also been removed entirely. The blanket 10% tariff imposed on imports by Trump as part of his sweeping "liberation day" announcement remains in place, but talks are ongoing in a UK effort to ease them. Speaking to the PM from the White House, the US president said the agreement was a "great deal for both countries". But he said the "final details" of the agreement were still being "written up". The timing of the announcement came as a surprise, coinciding with VE Day where the PM was heavily involved in events to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. Previous governments have attempted to secure a free trade agreement with the US, but with no success, however the impact of Trump's tariffs made it a high priority for Starmer. Trump said: "The US and UK have been working for years to try and make a deal and it never quite got there."
----------
BROKER RATING CHANGES
----------
Morgan Stanley raises Haleon to 'overweight' - price target 425 pence
----------
Jefferies reinitiates Playtech with 'buy' - price target 395 pence
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 100
----------
International Consolidated Airlines Group reported an improved first quarter, and the British Airways parent said demand is "resilient" in the face of tough economic conditions. IAG swung to a first quarter profit of EUR239 million, swinging from a loss of EUR87 million. Revenue climbed 9.6% on-year to EUR7.04 billion from EUR6.43 billion. Operating profit jumped to EUR198 million from EUR68 million. "Our strong first quarter results reflect the performance of our businesses and the effectiveness of our strategy and transformation. We continue to deliver on our industry-leading financial targets," Chief Executive Officer Luis Gallego said. "We remain focused on strengthening our broad portfolio of market-leading brands across our core markets of the North Atlantic, Latin America and intra-Europe. We continue to see resilient demand for air travel across all our markets, particularly in the premium cabins and despite the macroeconomic uncertainty." As of this week, IAG is 80% booked for the second-quarter, with revenue ahead of the prior year. It is 29% booked for the second half. IAG also announced it is ordering 53 new Airbus and Boeing aircraft for its long-haul fleet. It will buy 32 Boeing 787-10 aircraft for British Airways and 21 Airbus A330-900neo aircraft, "which can be deployed within Aer Lingus, Iberia or LEVEL". "Subject to shareholder approval at the IAG's annual general meeting in June, these new aircraft will enable IAG's airlines to grow and replace their long-haul fleets with modern, fuel-efficient planes. The aircraft will be delivered between 2028 and 2033," it added.
----------
LondonMetric agreed a GBP698.9 million deal to acquire Urban Logistics, as it hailed the warehousing sector as its "strongest conviction call" in the UK real estate market. Each Urban Logistics shareholder is to receive 0.5612 of a new LondonMetric share, and 42.8 pence in cash. Based on the 191.5p closing price of LondonMetric shares on Thursday, the deal values Urban Logistics shares at 150.3p each, and the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital at GBP698.9 million. The price per share is a 22% premium to the warehouse investor's share price prior to Urban Logistics announcing last month that it was reviewing an approach from LondonMetric. "This is an excellent transaction that grows our urban logistics platform and supports our triple net strategy. Urban warehousing remains our strongest conviction call for organic rental growth across the UK real estate market. The portfolio is well located, highly reversionary and our asset management focus will ensure that it delivers reliable, repetitive and growing income-led returns," LondonMetric CEO Andrew Jones said. "We have a demonstrable track record of successfully executing on M&A and we expect the transaction will deliver substantial synergies, cost savings and accelerated earnings growth. Our scale will continue to deliver enhanced access to capital, more debt optionality, increased share liquidity and larger investment opportunities."
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 250
----------
Travis Perkins named SIG's boss Gavin Slark as its next chief executive. Slark is to join the building supplies firm "no later than" January 1. Travis Perkins had announced in March that Pete Redfern was leaving the CEO post due to ill health. Redfern became CEO in September of last year. Slark had an 11-year stint as CEO of building materials and construction products supplier Grafton which ended in 2022. "The board and I are delighted that Gavin has agreed to join us. We are all very much looking forward to working with him. Gavin brings with him unrivalled experience of the sector in addition to a long pedigree as a CEO of significant public companies. Gavin is well placed to continue the work we have started to refocus and change the way we operate in order to better serve our customers and work effectively with our suppliers, as well as engage and motivate our teams," Chair Geoff Drabble said. SIG said it has received notice from Slark of his resignation. "Gavin will continue as SIG's CEO for a transitionary period, until a date no later than 31 December 2025," SIG said, adding that the process to find a new CEO is underway.
----------
OTHER COMPANIES
----------
Newbury Racecourse reported improved annual results, amid a rise in raceday attendances. The racing, entertainment and events business said pretax profit in 2024 improved 53% to GBP1.1 million from GBP719,000 in 2023. Revenue climbed 16% to GBP22.0 million from GBP19.0 million. "I am delighted to announce a 16% revenue growth in the underlying business, demonstrating the success of several initiatives across many areas of the business. The 2024 financial year was the first full year of our new media rights agreement. As anticipated, we have benefited by the positive financial impact of the additional capacity in the children's nursery, as well as the performance of our Conference & Events business, as we continue to seek opportunities to diversify our revenue streams," Chair Dominic Burke said. It reported raceday attendances of 133,896, improving from 129,836 in 2023.
----------
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
International AirlinesLondonMetricTravis PerkinsUrban LogisticsSIGHaleonPlaytech