(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still firmer by midday on Wednesday even as Donald Trump ramped up his trade war rhetoric, threatening to impose 50% tariffs on copper and 200% tariffs on pharmaceuticals.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 8,883.45.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, pointed out that copper and pharmaceuticals have traditionally been sheltered from import charges.
"The President also said that semiconductor tariffs will be announced soon," he said. "But details of when how and who remain thin on the ground," he said, adding that "confusion has become the new normal".
In equity markets, British American Tobacco and Imperial Brands were high risers as Jefferies reinstated coverage of the stocks at 'buy'.
"The sector sits in the sweet spot of Staples through attractive growth, a defensive nature, rich cash returns and still-attractive valuation," Jefferies said. "Our top pick is improver BAT, followed by growth pick PMI and value standout IMB."
Housebuilders were in focus after seven companies agreed to collectively pay 100m to affordable housing programmes across the UK following an investigation by the competition regulator into pricing and buyer incentives.
Barratt Redrow, Bellway, Berkeley Group, Bloor Homes, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Vistry have offered a package of commitments to address the Competition and Markets Authority's concerns, which includes a payment to fund hundreds of new homes - helping low-income households, first-time buyers and vulnerable people.
Genuit - formerly Polypipe - rallied after an upgrade to 'overweight' from 'neutral' at JPMorgan.
On the downside, heavily-weighted miners were the biggest losers on the FTSE 100 on the back of Trump's copper tariff threat, with Antofagasta, Glencore and Anglo American all sharply lower.
Advertising agency WPP tumbled after it slashed annual profit forecasts as it failed to win new clients amid a weakening economic outlook and the growing threat from artificial intelligence.
The company said it expected full-year organic revenue less pass-through costs - a main measure of its performance - to fall by 3-5% with a decline in operating margin of 50 to 175 basis points. Second-quarter revenue fell more than expected as clients cut back on spending and job loss costs fed through.
Prior guidance was for flat to down 2%, with a flat headline operating profit margin. Advertising agencies face growing competition from AI, which allows companies to design their own marketing campaigns for a fraction of the cost.
Close Brothers slid after saying it would scale back its premium finance offering amid rising costs and increasing complexity. The merchant banking group said it planned to reduce its emphasis on personal lines insurance premium finance in favour of commercial lines.
Zigup - formerly Redde Northgate - lost ground as it posted a slump in full-year profits but insisted there were "good opportunities" ahead.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,883.45 0.33%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,602.60 0.10%
techMARK (TASX) 5,126.74 0.19%
FTSE 100 - Risers
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,622.00p 2.66%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,118.00p 1.64%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 979.20p 1.32%
Centrica (CNA) 158.45p 1.31%
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 7,100.00p 1.28%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 252.60p 1.28%
Spirax Group (SPX) 6,220.00p 1.22%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,198.50p 1.14%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,134.00p 1.13%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,878.00p 1.12%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
WPP (WPP) 435.80p -17.40%
Glencore (GLEN) 298.60p -2.55%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,176.00p -2.20%
easyJet (EZJ) 529.40p -1.78%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 87.02p -1.58%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,889.50p -1.56%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,451.00p -1.23%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 338.90p -1.20%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 332.70p -0.95%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 111.85p -0.62%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Genuit Group (GEN) 399.00p 5.42%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 164.50p 2.68%
Ibstock (IBST) 153.40p 2.54%
Victrex plc (VCT) 738.00p 2.50%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 354.50p 2.16%
Pennon Group (PNN) 490.40p 2.12%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 4,895.00p 1.87%
Drax Group (DRX) 706.50p 1.80%
OSB Group (OSB) 562.50p 1.72%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 165.10p 1.66%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Zigup (ZIG) 336.50p -6.92%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 392.20p -4.62%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 261.20p -3.04%
ITV (ITV) 79.65p -2.63%
Indivior (INDV) 1,099.00p -2.57%
Future (FUTR) 725.50p -2.42%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,070.00p -1.92%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 220.00p -1.79%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 75.60p -1.75%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,212.50p -1.74%
34.54 (0.38%)
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