7th Jul 2025 12:16
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in Europe were higher heading into Monday afternoon, with the mood on the continent largely sanguine as a US tariff deadline looms.
Equities in New York are set to make a slow start, however, following Friday's public holiday.
The FTSE 100 index traded up 7.53 points, 0.1%, at 8,830.44. The FTSE 250 was up 60.26 points, 0.3%, at 21,617.60, and the AIM All-Share was up just 0.11 of a point at 773.60.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 880.59, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 19,115.04, and the Cboe Small Companies was 0.2% higher at 17,575.03.
In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt added 0.6%.
In London, Barclays and NatWest helped support the large-cap index. The banking duo rose 1.3% and 0.6%. UK bond market turmoil had hit the stocks last week.
On the decline, however, Shell fell 2.7%. The oil major set out a weaker top-end outlook range for Integrated Gas production and warned of a second quarter loss in Chemicals & Products.
Stocks in New York are called to open lower as traders return to desks there after the Independence Day holiday on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is called down marginally, the S&P 500 down 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite 0.4% lower.
US tariffs will kick in on August 1 if trading partners from Taiwan to the EU do not strike deals with Washington, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday.
The rates will "boomerang back" to the sometimes very high levels that President Donald Trump had announced on April 2 – before he suspended the levies to allow for trade talks and set a July 9 deadline for agreements, Bessent told CNN.
Bessent confirmed comments by Trump to reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday in which he also cited a new deadline: "Well, I'll probably start them on August 1."
The president told reporters Sunday he had signed about a dozen letters to inform countries of rate hikes, to be sent out on Monday.
"I think we'll have most countries done by July 9, either a letter or a deal," Trump told reporters Sunday, adding that some deals have already been made.
Standing at his side, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed tariffs would kick in on August 1, "but the president is setting the rates and the deals right now."
"There will be many that see this as weakening his hand as nations note his unwillingness to follow through on his threats. Nonetheless, this once again provides markets with a breather, bringing over three-weeks longer until tariffs kick in," Rostro analyst Joshua Mahony commented.
"The obvious benefits of holding off rather than implementing a swathe of tariffs also have a likely unintended consequence of writing off a July rate cut from the Fed. While Trump can point towards the inflation levels and claim that his policies are not inflationary by nature, the FOMC will want to judge based on the stable and long-term policies rather than simply a lull before the higher tariffs come into effect. Thus, if Trump wants rate cuts, he arguably needs to either implement or call off the remaining tariffs, allowing the Fed with a period of months to see that prices do not surge once the final rates are in place."
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury stretched slightly to 4.36% early Monday afternoon UK time, from 4.33% at the time of the London equities close on Thursday. The yield on the 30-year widened to 4.89% from 4.85%.
Sterling faded to USD1.3604 midday Monday, down from USD1.3640 at the time of the London equities close on Friday. The euro traded at USD1.1726, down from USD1.1780. Against the yen, the dollar advanced to JPY145.41 from JPY144.53.
A barrel of Brent rose to USD68.33 Monday, from USD68.19 at the time of the London equities close on Friday, regaining some poise after initially falling after an output hike from major producers. Gold fell to USD3,301.56 an ounce from USD3,332.52.
Back in London, Plus500 rose 2.4%. It reported profit and revenue growth for the second quarter of the year, and it "remains confident in the outlook".
The Haifa, Israel-based contracts-for-difference trading platform provider said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 12% on-year in the second quarter to USD91.3 million from USD81.3 million, as revenue climbed 15% to USD209.3 million from USD182.6 million.
For the whole of the first half, Ebitda was 0.7% higher on-year at USD185.1 million, while revenue rose 4.2% to USD415.1 million.
Ebitda margin for the first half weakened to 45% from 46% a year prior. For the second quarter alone, the margin narrowed to 44% from 45%.
Coral Products surged 24%. The bespoke plastic products maker expects profit "materially above market expectations" for the year ended April 30, despite an "underperformance" in the first half. It expects to report sales of GBP30.5 million, down from GBP30.9 million.
"Early trading in FY26 is encouraging, with profitability significantly ahead of budget expectations, supporting confidence in a return to revenue growth and further margin progression," it added.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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