London midday: FTSE stays up as investors shrug off tariffs, Brent eases back

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still in the black by midday on Friday as investors shrugged off fresh US tariffs on more than 60 countries, while Brent crude eased back after breaching $100 a barrel for the first time since May.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 10,672.29, while Brent crude was down 2.7% at $98.00 a barrel, having breached $100 following attacks by Iran-backed Houthis on two Saudi Arabian tankers. West Texas Intermediate was down 2.6% at $89.81.

Investors were mulling a fresh round of tariffs from the US to replace a 10% global duty that was due to expire. The US announced on Thursday that it would impose tariffs of between 10% and 12.5% on 60 countries including the UK, Canada and Australia.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said: "The United States has had a forced labour import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it's well past time for our trading partners to do the same.

"Today's action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere."

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Tariffs are back on the list of concerns for global stock markets as the White House brings in a new swathe of levies to replace temporary measures which had just expired.

"The Trump administration was always likely to look for another route to introduce a new round of tariffs after the ruling in February from the Supreme Court that the previous set were illegal.

"But, while the outcome won't come as a complete shock to markets, it is nonetheless another unwelcome source of uncertainty as sentiment is buffeted by the renewed conflict between the US and Iran and concerns about levels of expenditure in the tech sector.

"Brent crude oil is firmly back in alarm bell territory having breached the $100 per barrel level, with seemingly little prospect of tensions easing in the Middle East in the short term."

Mould noted that the FTSE 100 has held up much better than many of its global counterparts this week, "thanks to its collection of stodgier names and limited tech exposure, and it again demonstrated some durability on Friday".

On the macro front, figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that retail sales unexpectedly rose in June. Sales were up 1% on the month following a 1.2% jump in May, and versus expectations for a 0.3% decline.

On the year, sales rose 4.2%, ahead of expectations for a 2.3% increase.

The ONS said sales promotions and the warm weather increased sales volumes for non-store and clothing retailers.

The figures showed that the proportion of online sales rose from 28.9% in May to 29.4% in June - the highest proportion since April 2021.

ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach: "Internet retailers did especially well, with businesses telling us that this was because of promotions and the warm weather, with strong demand in June for outdoor products, air conditioning and clothing. Sports merchandise also sold well online."

Elsewhere, a survey showed the private sector returned to growth in July, helped along by the World Cup and the heatwave,.

The flash S&P Global UK PMI composite output index rose to a three-month high of 52.1 from 49.3 in June, coming above expectations for a reading of 49.8. A reading above 50.0 signals expansion, while a reading below indicates contraction.

Meanwhile, the flash services PMI business activity index printed at 51.8 in July, up from 48.8 a month earlier and also marking a three-month high. The manufacturing PMI ticked up to 52.8 this month from 52.5 in June.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "Hospitality companies saw demand boosted by good weather, the FIFA World Cup and more domestic holidays, as high costs and uncertainty continued to deter some foreign travel. However, overall services growth remained lacklustre amid cost-of-living pressures.

"Unusually for recent years, manufacturing is now growing faster than services, buoyed by rising exports. One caveat is that manufacturers and their customers continued to build precautionary stocks, widely linked to supply chain disruption caused by the war in the Middle East, meaning part of the recent factory upturn could prove short-lived."

In equity markets, 3i Group was a high riser again, having said on Thursday that its largest holding, Dutch discount retailer Action, delivered a strong financial performance in the first quarter.

HSBC rose after agreeing to sell its Singapore life and health insurance business to Allianz for $2.1bn in cash.

Discoverie jumped as it hailed continued strong momentum in orders and sales and said full-year adjusted earnings were tracking ahead of the board's expectations.

On the downside, Wise tumbled after being denied a US banking licence.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,672.29 0.31%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,710.34 0.35%

techMARK (TASX) 5,999.66 0.61%

FTSE 100 - Risers

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 88.38p 3.20%

3i Group (III) 2,750.00p 2.84%

Anglo American (AAL) 3,725.00p 2.81%

Weir Group (WEIR) 2,614.00p 2.75%

Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,728.00p 2.36%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 431.60p 2.23%

The Sage Group (SGE) 838.80p 2.00%

Experian (EXPN) 2,704.00p 1.96%

Croda International (CRDA) 2,906.00p 1.86%

Fresnillo (FRES) 2,538.00p 1.80%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Airtel Africa (AAF) 334.00p -3.30%

BP (BP.) 547.00p -1.55%

Shell (SHEL) 3,310.00p -1.00%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 376.20p -1.00%

Vodafone Group (VOD) 115.15p -0.82%

Rentokil Initial (RTO) 426.30p -0.75%

AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,608.00p -0.50%

Autotrader Group (AUTO) 480.60p -0.39%

Admiral Group (ADM) 3,546.00p -0.39%

SSE (SSE) 2,430.00p -0.37%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Discoverie Group (DSCV) 778.00p 11.94%

Renishaw (RSW) 5,200.00p 5.09%

Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) 156.20p 3.86%

Foresight Group Holdings Limited NPV (FSG) 474.50p 3.60%

CMC Markets (CMCX) 728.00p 3.12%

Pan African Resources (PAF) 94.65p 2.82%

Rank Group (RNK) 95.90p 2.79%

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,023.00p 2.51%

Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 355.00p 2.45%

Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 715.50p 2.43%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Trustpilot Group (TRST) 244.60p -4.60%

Michael Page (PAGE) 175.10p -3.89%

Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 4,594.00p -3.24%

The Schiehallion Fund Limited NPV (MNTN) 1.94p -3.12%

Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 989.00p -2.85%

CVS Group (CVSG) 1,182.00p -2.39%

The Global Smaller Companies Trust (GSCT) 189.00p -2.07%

Harbour Energy (HBR) 257.20p -1.91%

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 693.25p -1.87%

Hays (HAS) 57.20p -1.80%