London Open: FTSE 100 at Three-Week High as Risk Appetite Returns
Warren TakundaSummary:
FTSE 100 hit a three-week high as easing trade tensions lifted global sentiment. Commodity and financial stocks led gains, while miners Fresnillo and Hoshchild lagged.
UK markets jumped on Wednesday morning, sending the FTSE 100 to its highest level in nearly three weeks as trade tensions eased, with commodity stocks and financial names providing a big lift.
The FTSE 100 was up 1.4% at 8,441.20 within the first hour of trade in London, on track to finish at its highest level since 3 April – the day after Donald Trump first unveiled sweeping tariffs on America's trading partners.
Major indices across the US and Asia put in gains of 2% or more on Tuesday as traders grew optimistic that US-China trade tensions could ease soon.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there "will be a de-escalation" in the White House's trade war with China. "No one thinks the current status quo is sustainable," he said. Bessent said that while negotiations had not yet begun, a deal was still with Beijing was still possible.
Trump also said on Tuesday he had no plans to fire Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell only days after calling him a “major loser” for not cutting interest rates. The central banker’s said last week that the administration’s tariff policies posed inflationary risks.
“While the news is welcome, the sheer changeability of the Trump administration makes life impossible for investors. There remains the risk that policy will u-turn once again, and in the face of this the ‘Sell US’ trade seems set to continue," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.
"Uncertainty levels remain off the charts, meaning investors will keep looking for places where their money is less at risk from the whims of the White House.”
After a quiet day for economic data, the calendar picks up on Wednesday, with UK public sector borrowing figures released early on, and a host of purchasing managers' indices (PMIs) across the eurozone, UK and US due out later in the morning.
Miners rise but Fresnillo underperforms
Mining stocks were performing well with the exception of precious metals groups, with heavyweights Glencore, Anglo American and Antofagasta among the best performers as macro concerns eased. Financial stocks, which had recently also been weighed down by weaker economic prospects on the back of escalating trade tensions, also gained, including HSBC, Standard Chartered and Barclays.
Leading the fallers was Fresnillo which fell 8% after reporting a 10% decline in attributable silver production and a 24% drop in gold output in the first quarter, compared with three months earlier.
Smaller peer Hoshchild dropped 13% after disappointing with a first-quarter production update, reporting that operations at the Mara Rosa project in Brazil were affected by adverse weather conditions in April. Meanwhile, Endeavour was also falling sharply as gold prices slumped 2.8%, pulling back after hitting fresh record highs the previous session.
Heading the other way was specialty chemicals outfit Croda, jumping 9% after reporting an 8% increase in first-quarter sales and reiterating its full-year profit forecasts. While acknowledging increased geopolitical uncertainty and the introduction of global trade tariffs, the company said its localised manufacturing and procurement strategy provided insulation, adding that it was assessing the impact with plans to apply a tariff surcharge if needed.
Energy major BP was also putting in a decent performance, up 5%, after hedge fund Elliott disclosed a stake of more than 5% and raised the pressure on management to increase spending cuts and improve free cash flow.
Shares in fast fashion retailer Boohoo were rising after Shore Capital upgraded its rating on the stock from 'sell' to 'hold' following a 35% slump over the past five months.
Source: SharecastRisk Warnings and Disclaimers
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