30th Jun 2025 09:14
(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 opened in the red on Monday, after a data reading showed the UK economy grew as expected in the first quarter of the year and as US tariff cuts come into effect in the UK.
The FTSE 100 index opened down 9.40 points, 0.1%, at 8,789.51. The FTSE 250 was down 38.68 points, 0.2%, at 21,677.28, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.52 points, 0.1%, at 769.85.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 876.65, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.1% at 19,187.46, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.2% at 17,466.55.
UK gross domestic product grew as expected during the first quarter of 2025, according to data from the Office for National Statistics on Monday.
Real GDP is estimated to have increased by 0.7% between January and March, in line with the ONS's first estimate. This is accelerated from a 0.1% growth in the prior quarter.
On-year, real GDP is estimated to have increased by an unrevised 1.3%, also in line with the first estimate.
Growth was driven by a 0.7% rise in the services sector and a 1.3% increase in production, noted the ONS. The construction sector grew by 0.3%.
In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris was marginally lower, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was slightly higher.
Tariff cuts for the UK automotive and aerospace sectors have come into force after Prime Minister Keir Starmer finalised parts of a deal for relief from US import taxes.
Car manufacturers exporting to the US will face a 10% tariff quota, down from 27.5%, while the aerospace sector will see a 10% levy removed entirely.
Starmer hailed the "historic trade deal" with the US, clinched after Donald Trump imposed the import taxes as part of his "liberation day" tariffs on countries across the world.
The prime minister and US president finalised the deal for those sectors at the G7 summit, but levies on steel have been left standing at 25% rather than falling to zero as originally agreed.
Talks are ongoing to secure 0% tariffs on core steel products from the UK.
The pound was quoted slightly down at USD1.3711 early on Monday in London, compared to USD1.3713 at the equities close on Friday. The euro stood higher at USD1.731, against USD1.1717. Against the yen, the dollar was trading lower at JPY144.00 compared to JPY144.75.
The UK government is to set out the concessions it has made to its welfare reforms in the hope that the climbdown on cuts will be enough to shore up support in a crunch vote.
Work & Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said the Bill aims to deliver a "fairer, more compassionate system" ahead of the legislation's second reading on Tuesday. The government will amend the Bill at the Commons committee stage to put the changes in place.
The original plans restricted eligibility for the personal independence payment, Pip, and cut the health-related element of universal credit. The changes to Pip will now only apply to new claims from November 2026.
Plans to cut the health-related element of universal credit have also been rowed back, with all existing recipients to have their incomes protected in real terms.
BP on the FTSE fell 0.6%.
Brescia, Italy-based A2A and London-based BP announced that they had signed an agreement for the purchase and sale of liquefied natural gas, according to which A2A will purchase up to 10 cargoes - equivalent to approximately 1 billion cubic metres - of liquefied natural gas per year from 2027 to 2044.
WH Smith was the FTSE 250's biggest loser at London's market open, down 7.8%.
The Swindon, England-based retail chain said it has now completed the sale of its UK High Street business to Modella Capital, further to its initial announcement at the end of March. The deal included around 480 stores and 5,000 staff.
However, WH Smith noted "the future of the High Street business under a change of ownership has led to a more cautious outlook amongst stakeholders. This, combined with a period of softer trading, has resulted in a reduction in the ongoing cash flow of the business."
As a result, Modella has sought to revise the terms of the sale. WH Smith now expects gross cash proceeds of up to GBP40 million from the disposal, reduced from its prior expectation of GBP52 million.
MS International fell 18%.
The Doncaster, Yorkshire-based defence equipment manufacturer reached "record" pretax profit of GBP20.1 million in the year that ended April 30, rising 28% from GBP15.7 million the year before. Revenue grew 7.2% to GBP117.5 million from GBP109.6 million.
The firm declared a final dividend of 18 pence per share, up 9.1% on-year from 16.5p. This brings its total dividend to 23p per share, 18% higher than 19.5p a year prior.
"Given the growth of our Defence & Security division, and its medium and long term prospects, we have decided that this should become the group's primary focus," said Chair Michael Bell.
At the other end, Cap-XX rose 9.5%.
The Sydney-based maker of supercapacitors and energy management systems signed a global distribution deal with RS Group, the London-based distributor of industrial and electronic products and service solutions.
"Our agreement with RS Group marks a key milestone in our global expansion," said Cap-XX Chief Executive Officer Lars Stegmann. "RS Group's industrial focus and extensive logistics reach mean our high-performance supercaps will be easily accessible to a broader range of customers."
RS Group faded 1.0%.
In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo improved 0.8%. In China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.6%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong faded 0.7%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed 0.3% higher.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.0%, the S&P 500 rising 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite also 0.5% higher.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.26%, narrowing from 4.27%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted flat at 4.82%.
US senators were inching Sunday towards a vote on Donald Trump's "big beautiful" spending bill, a hugely divisive proposal that would deliver key parts of the US president's domestic agenda while making massive cuts to social welfare programs.
Trump is hoping the "One Big Beautiful Bill" will help seal his legacy, extending his expiring first-term tax cuts at a cost of USD4.5 trillion and beefing up border security.
But Republicans eyeing 2026 midterm congressional elections are divided over the package, which would strip health care from millions of the poorest Americans and add more than USD3 trillion to the country's debt.
The Senate formally opened debate on the bill late Saturday, after Republican holdouts delayed what should have been a procedural vote.
Brent oil was quoted at USD66.68 a barrel early in London on Monday from USD66.83 late Friday.
Gold was quoted higher at USD3,294.87 an ounce against USD3,273.76.
Still to come on Monday's economic calendar, UK money supply and mortgage approvals data at 0930 BST.
By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Wh SmithMs Intl.CAP-XXBP