1st Apr 2025 11:57
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were higher at midday on Tuesday despite investors bracing themselves for Wednesday's fresh wave of tariffs from US President Donald Trump.
"UK markets have kicked off April on the front foot, after a poor start to the week saw the FTSE 100 lose 0.9% yesterday," said Hargreaves Lansdown's Matt Britzman, who referred to Tuesday morning as the "calm before the storm as markets brace for Trump's 'liberation day'". "In the absence of any major company results, it's the White House that's driving markets at the minute, with the unknown impact of tariffs bleeding volatility into global markets.
"Still, the FTSE 100 wrapped up the first quarter with a solid 5% gain, outshining US markets as investors turn to the UK's relatively undervalued stocks for their defensive appeal in these choppy times."
AJ Bell's Russ Mould meanwhile commented: "Investors are keeping their fingers crossed that Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' is not as punishing as first feared. The sell-off on global stock markets on Monday indicated investor concern that Trump is going to be more aggressive with tariffs and cause economic turmoil around the world... [but] The FTSE 100 bounced back with aplomb, rising 0.6% thanks to broad-based strength in the index.
"While pharma, banks and miners led the way, the fact only four FTSE 100 stocks were in negative territory in early trading suggests investors were fired up and ready to go."
The FTSE 100 index was up 49.91 points, 0.6%, at 8,632.72. The FTSE 250 was up 141.50 points, 0.7%, at 19,616.98, and the AIM All-Share was up 8.27 points, 1.2%, at 690.26.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.6% at 860.67, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.8% at 17,096.55, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.5% at 15,239.19.
Among large caps, Unilever was up 0.3%.
The London-based consumer goods titan has bought upmarket refillable personal care brand Wild for an undisclosed sum, although reports said the deal could be worth up to GBP230 million.
Wild makes premium deodorants, lip balms, body washes and hand washes using plant-based ingredients, with refillable, plastic-free packaging.
Among the FTSE 100's winners, bank Barclays was up 2.4%; miner Glencore was 2.3% higher; and GSK gained 1.9%.
Grocers continued to lead the laggers with J Sainsbury down 3.2% and Tesco down 1.4%, despite Kantar's report that UK grocery sales picked up 3.2% to GBP34.75 billion for the twelve weeks ended March 23.
Grocery price inflation picked up to 3.5% over the same period, with promotional activities playing a large role in consumers' spending activity.
Greencore led the FTSE 250, rising 6.1%.
The Dublin-based manufacturer of convenience foods said it expects full-year profit will be ahead of current market expectations after strong trading in the second quarter.
Greencore anticipates adjusted operating profit for the full year ending September 26 will be in the range of GBP112 million to GBP115 million. RBC Capital Markets noted the prior range was GBP102.6 million to GBP107 million with a consensus average of around GBP105 million.
"The end of the pandemic was the big turning point for Greencore," commented AJ Bell's Mould. "The more workers have been called back to the office, the bigger the demand for food on the go and Greencore has stepped up to the challenge.
"The return of the office commute has also eaten into people's spare time and driven extra demand for ready meals, which is another part of Greencore's output."
Travis Perkins remained the worst performer, down 6.6% after it reported a loss in 2024 and warned profit in the year ahead would be lower than expected amid "challenging" trading conditions.
On AIM, Strip Tinning shares more than doubled in value.
The supplier of specialist connection systems to the automotive sector predicted a narrowed adjusted loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in 2025.
It also said the supply of an offering for a US contract will likely not fall into the crosshairs of US tariffs on automobile imports.
Celadon Pharmaceuticals lost 37%.
The developer of cannabis-based medicines warned on Monday that it was yet to receive funds from either its secured credit facility or its committed credit facility despite draw-down requests.
If it "cannot secure funds in a timely manner", the firm said, "the directors will have to protect the interests of all stakeholders which may lead to the company being placed into administration with limited notice".
The pound was quoted at USD1.2919 at midday on Tuesday in London, higher compared to USD1.2904 at the equities close on Monday. The euro stood at USD1.0803, almost flat against USD1.0801. Against the yen, the dollar was trading lower at JPY149.42 compared to JPY149.85.
Manufacturing activity in the UK continued to decline in March, albeit at a slightly lower pace than anticipated, survey results published by S&P Global showed.
The S&P Global UK manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to a 17-month low of 44.9 points in March from 46.9 in February. However, it still beat the flash estimate of 44.6.
UK manufacturing production contracted for the fifth consecutive month and at the quickest pace since October 2023.
Factory owners surveyed noted a tough trading environment amid rising geopolitical tensions, weak client confidence, and economic slowdown in domestic and overseas markets, S&P Global said.
S&P noted potential tariff uncertainty which undermined current and expected future conditions.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.7%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 1.0%.
The eurozone consumer price inflation rate faded in March, while separate figures from Eurostat showed unemployment declined in February.
According to a Eurostat flash estimate, the rate of yearly consumer price inflation eased to 2.2% in March, from 2.3% in February and in line with consensus cited by FXStreet.
Annual service price inflation cooled to 3.4% in March from 3.7% in February, while consumer prices rose 0.6% in March from February. The pace of growth accelerated from 0.4% in February from January.
Separately, Eurostat said the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the eurozone fell to 6.1% in February, from 6.2% in January and from 6.5% in February a year prior.
It had been expected to remain at 6.2% in February of this year, according to FXStreet-cited consensus.
Stocks in New York were called lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called down 0.5%, the S&P 500 index down 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.4%.
Brent oil was quoted higher at USD75.10 a barrel at midday in London on Tuesday from USD74.42 late Monday.
Gold was quoted at USD3,135.11 an ounce, higher against USD3,116.44.
Still to come on Tuesday's economic calendar, the US and Canada both release manufacturing PMI data.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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