4th Jun 2025 08:49
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened mostly higher on Wednesday, following the news of the UK's temporary reprieve from 50% US tariffs on steel and aluminium.
The Trump administration will instead give UK imports a 25% rate, according to an order stating that "it is necessary and appropriate to allow for the implementation of the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal...and to accordingly provide different treatment".
Also, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce a GBP15.6 billion public transport investment package, for mayoral authorities in the North and Midlands.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 3.52 points at 8,790.54. The FTSE 250 was up 24.75 points, 0.1%, at 21,053.72, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.55 points, 0.2%, at 755.06.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 875.48 and the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 18,585.34, but the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.1% at 16,623.91.
Miners mostly led the FTSE 100, although defence large-cap Babcock International came out on top with a 2.6% rise.
Antofagasta gained 2.5%, Fresnillo rose 2.3%, and Glencore was 2.0% higher as was Anglo American, while Endeavour Mining gained 1.6%.
On the FTSE 250, Ninety One climbed 6.2%.
The London and Cape Town-based money manager posted a 5.8% annual dip in pretax profit to GBP204.3 million for the 12 months that ended March 31. Revenue for the year edged up 0.3% to GBP700.0 million.
Assets under management, however, totalled GBP130.8 billion on March 31, up 4%. And net outflows were GBP4.9 billion, representing a substantial improvement from the prior year's GBP9.4 billion.
Ninety One also declared a final dividend of 6.8 pence, up of 6.3% from 6.4p, but the total payout was 12.2p, down 0.8% from 12.3p.
Among smaller caps, GENinCode soared 20%.
The genomic testing company reported a narrowed pretax loss of GBP5.1 million for 2024, with revenue rising to GBP2.7 million while its loss per share narrowed to 2.53 pence from 7.32p.
Also, for the first four months of 2025 it said consolidated revenues were 20% higher on an annual basis.
"We expect to grow revenues across the business over the coming year based on increasing sales volumes and collaborations," GENinCode said.
In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.5%.
"Germany's Rheinmetall has joined the Euro Stoxx 50, while Kering has dropped out," Swissquote's Ipek Ozkardeskaya noted. "Weak demand from Chinese consumers and higher US import taxes are weighing on the luxury sector. Meanwhile, rising geopolitical risks and European pledges to boost defense spending are attracting flows into defense stocks.
"Beyond that, softer inflation and looming European Central Bank [ECB] rate cuts continue to support Stoxx 600 valuations, though the upside in most of these names can't match the momentum of US tech leaders, and there are concerns that the European defense spending plans may have already been mostly priced in."
Also in Germany, Chancellor Friedrich Merz is travelling to Washington on Wednesday evening for his first visit since taking office.
He plans to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday. The subsequent press conference in the Oval Office is eagerly awaited.
The meeting is expected to focus on efforts to end the war in Ukraine, NATO's response to growing external threats, and the tariff dispute between the US and the EU.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3527 early on Wednesday in London, higher compared to USD1.3499 at the equities close on Tuesday. The euro stood at USD1.1383, almost flat against USD1.1385. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at JPY143.90 compared to JPY143.24.
In Asia on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.8%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.4%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.4%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.9%.
In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.5%, the S&P 500 up 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.8%.
"It's services PMI day today...[but] Most of the prints are 'final' data, that shouldn't be revised especially much from the 'flash' estimates out a fortnight or so ago," Pepperstone's Michael Brown commented. "That doesn't go for the US ISM services survey though, with the index set to tick higher to 52.0, from a prior 51.6. The ISM mfg. survey, though, did surprise to the downside earlier this week, which is worth bearing in mind, while the employment sub-index will be closely watched ahead of Friday's NFP print."
He added: "Elsewhere, the [Bank of Canada] should keep rates on hold this afternoon at 2.75%, given recent hot CPI and solid GDP reports, though the sell-side consensus still favours a 25bp cut."
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.45%, narrowing from 4.46%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.98%, widening from 4.97%.
Brent oil was quoted lower at USD65.42 a barrel early in London on Wednesday from USD65.73 late Tuesday.
Gold was quoted higher at USD3,359.55 an ounce against USD3,349.93.
"Gold experienced a corrective session yesterday as profit-taking pressure increased following its previous rebound," XS.com's Linh Tran said. "However, buying interest returned toward the end of the session, helping the precious metal recover most of its losses.
"This indicates that investor sentiment still leans toward holding gold as a safe-haven asset. The tug-of-war in price action reflects the market's cautious stance amid a landscape filled with both economic and geopolitical uncertainties."
Still to come on Wednesday's economic calendar, there are composite PMI releases from the eurozone, US, UK and various other regions.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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