15th Apr 2025 11:49
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were higher at midday on Tuesday, while overseas Germany's economic outlook has declined in the eyes of financial experts after Trump's tariff announcements.
The US, meanwhile, is "certainly working very hard with Starmer's government" on negotiating a trade deal, Vice President JD Vance has said.
Vance told website UnHerd: "The President really loves the UK. 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. I think there's a good chance that, yes, we'll come to a great agreement that's in the best interest of both countries."
Business and trade minister Sarah Jones welcomed Vance's comments but declined to comment on the progress of negotiations, telling LBC: "The conversations are ongoing, I can't update more than that. We know we're in a good position."
Chancellor Rachel Reeves will aim to continue negotiations for an economic deal with the US later this month when she travels to Washington to attend the International Monetary Fund's spring meetings with other finance ministers.
The FTSE 100 index was up 73.80 points, 0.9%, at 8,208.14. The FTSE 250 was up 209.16 points, 1.1%, at 19,187.67, and the AIM All-Share was up 3.68 points, 0.6%, at 662.70.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.9% at 816.89, the Cboe UK 250 was up 1.5% at 16,729.39, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.6% at 1,5010.67.
The FTSE 100 "made a strong start to proceedings" after Vance's comments, AJ Bell's Russ Mould said.
"Suggestions there might also be a softening of tariffs on the motoring sector also helped lift the mood – with names which have sold off most heavily on US trade policy like Rolls-Royce bouncing back," he added. "Housebuilders were in demand as slowing UK wage growth raised hopes for a cut to interest rates, which would in turn boost the affordability of mortgages."
Rolls Royce was trading 2.5% higher, while housebuilder Taylor Wimpey gained 2.6%.
Tate & Lyle was among the FTSE 250 winners, up 3.4%.
The London-based provider of ingredients to food and beverage producers said its full-year results will be in line with guidance, expecting revenue to be down 5% and Ebitda up 4% at constant currency, excluding CP Kelco. It also said CP Kelco's integration is on track, with the two operating as one business since April 1.
Frasers was close behind, up 3.5%.
The Shirebrook, England-based Sports Direct and House of Fraser owner has entered into a 25-year retail agreement with Accent Group Ltd to launch the Sports Direct brand across Australia and New Zealand.
Frasers is increasing its stake in Accent by 5% to 19.57%, with subscription proceeds of approximately GBP29 million being used to fund the initial launch of Sports Direct operations in Australasia, "demonstrating confidence in its growth potential."
On AIM, Kooth was up 15%.
The London-based provider of digital youth mental health care swung to a GBP9.9 million profit in 2024 from 2023's GBP2.0 million loss, with revenue more than doubling to GBP66.7 million.
Kooth also said it expects growth in the US market, with work underway to secure further contract wins with State governments and Medicaid payers.
Billington was 20% lower.
The structural steel and construction safety solutions company's pretax profit fell 19% on-year to GBP10.8 million in 2024, while revenue fell 15% to GBP113.1 million. The total dividend was 25.0p, down from 30.0p.
"We are optimistic that the market will see some recovery later in 2025, although the timing and nature of any upturn in economic confidence is uncertain," said Chief Executive Officer Mark Smith.
In other UK news, officials have approved plans to connect new wind and solar farms to the power grid faster, which they hope will end years of gridlock for some projects.
Regulator Ofgem is to scrap the current first-come, first-served approach to the grid connections queue, which has left some projects facing decade-long delays.
The new plan will see projects that can be up and running by 2030 fast-tracked, in a bid to help the government hit its clean power goals.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 1.2%.
The ZEW Institute's economic expectations index for Germany have declined by 65.6 points to negative 14.0 points in April from positive 51.6 points in March.
Sentiment sank by further than expected by the FXStreet-cited market consensus, which anticipated a reading of positive 9.3 points, which would have signalled a drop of 42.3 points. The drop was the strongest decline in expectations since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
ZEW said assessments of the current economic situation have slightly improved, by 6.4 points to minus 81.2 points from negative 87.6 points.
"The erratic changes in the US trade policy are weighing heavily on expectations in Germany, which have sharply declined. It is not only the consequences the announced reciprocal tariffs may have on global trade, but also the dynamics of their changes, that have massively increased global uncertainty," said ZEW President Achim Wambach.
Industrial production in the euro area and the wider EU rose by more than expected in February, driven by a strong rebound in non-durable consumer goods, official data showed.
According to Eurostat, industrial output rose 1.1% in the eurozone in February from January, following a 0.6% rise in January from December. Across the wider EU, production increased by 1.0%, accelerating from 0.1% in January.
On an annual basis, industrial production rose by 1.2% in the euro area, exceeding the FXStreet-cited market consensus of 0.8%, and increased by 0.6% in the wider EU, compared with February 2024.
The pound was quoted higher at USD1.3245 at midday on Tuesday in London, compared to USD1.3183 at the equities close on Monday. The euro stood at USD1.1345, lower against USD1.1375. Against the yen, the dollar was trading lower at JPY142.89 compared to JPY143.21.
Stocks in New York were called higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called up 0.8%, the S&P 500 index up 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.3%.
In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo closed up 0.8%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended up 0.2%. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed up 0.3%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.2%.
Japanese authorities have issued a cease-and-desist order to Alphabet Inc's Google over an alleged violation of national antitrust laws.
It is the first time the country has issued such an order to a big US technology firm, Japanese media reported, and follows similar moves in Europe and the US.
"We have concluded that Google LLC's conduct threatens to impede fair competition," Saiko Nakajima of the Japan Fair Trade Commission told reporters on Tuesday. The problem is "related to the implementation of search functions for Android smartphones, in violation of the antitrust law", she said.
Brent oil was quoted lower at USD64.60 a barrel at midday in London on Tuesday from USD64.83 late Monday.
Gold was quoted higher at USD3,224.24 an ounce against USD3,207.11.
Still to come on Tuesday's economic calendar, the US has the Redbook index, export and import prices, and the New York Empire State manufacturing index.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Tate & LyleFrasers GroupKooth PlcBillingtonRolls-RoyceTaylor Wimpey