London open: FTSE nudges higher as Trump sends tariff letters

(Sharecast News) - London stocks nudged higher in early trade on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump issued tariff letters to key trading partners.

At 0825 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 8,816.76.

Investors were mulling news that Trump has sent tariff letters to 14 countries, including Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and South Africa.

In addition, Trump said on Monday that the new 1 August tariff deadline was "not 100% firm".

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Trump lit the fuse on tariff fears again last night, leaving investors bracing for fresh volatility. Letters went out to a host of countries warning of reciprocal tariffs if they don't reach trade deals, seemingly putting the US right back to square one as the threatened rates looks eerily like those seen on 'Liberation Day'.

"Still, the extension until August has offered some reprieve and European markets are largely brushing off the news with a mixed open this morning. The FTSE 100 managed to creep higher, hovering just shy of the all-time high's seen last month.

"Wall Street was the first to react last night, with major indexes sliding over 1% as the tariff news hit the reels. After recent all-time highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, the new 1 August tariff deadline and fears of skipped negotiations have markets on edge, especially with the US-China trade deal still hanging in the balance. There's clearly a desire from the White House to get deals done, reflected in the latest extension of the tariff deadline.

"Investors are still digesting the latest developments, with US futures suggesting a claw back of some of yesterday's losses when markets open this afternoon. The lack of any real impact from tariffs on inflation, for now at least, has likely kept a lid on the fallout. Still, the clock is ticking, and the White House can only extend deadlines for so long before being forced to swap the carrot for the stick, setting up a volatile few weeks ahead."

In equity markets, Ladbrokes owner Entain shot to the top of the FTSE 100 after an upgrade to 'buy' at Bank of America. The bank, which hiked its price target on the stock to 1,100p from 880p, cited a bullish view on BetMGM and strength of iGaming trends.

Glencore was also in the black as JPMorgan Cazenove moved the stock to 'overweight' from 'not rated'.

On the downside, specialist polymer maker Victrex tumbled as it said second-half underlying profits could be at a "broadly similar" level to the first as it continued to see a weaker-than-expected performance at its medical division, production issues at its new China plant and currency headwinds.

"Overall Q3 trading saw continued volume momentum, offset by a softer than expected performance in medical and further adverse sales mix within sustainable solutions," said CEO Jakob Sigurdsson.

Student accommodation provider Unite Group nudged lower as it reiterated its FY25 guidance for adjusted EPRA earnings per share of 47.5p to 48.25p, saying it had seen "continuing momentum", with 85% of beds sold for the 2025/26 academic year.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,816.76 0.12%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,525.31 -0.06%

techMARK (TASX) 5,100.79 0.05%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Entain (ENT) 929.80p 2.15%

Glencore (GLEN) 302.70p 1.61%

Persimmon (PSN) 1,211.00p 1.17%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,292.50p 0.86%

St James's Place (STJ) 1,181.50p 0.81%

Prudential (PRU) 907.80p 0.80%

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,500.00p 0.74%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,227.50p 0.66%

CRH (CDI) (CRH) 6,968.00p 0.64%

Schroders (SDR) 370.40p 0.60%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Pearson (PSON) 1,056.50p -0.80%

Halma (HLMA) 3,196.00p -0.62%

Rentokil Initial (RTO) 350.40p -0.51%

Bunzl (BNZL) 2,306.00p -0.43%

Unilever (ULVR) 4,477.00p -0.42%

Centrica (CNA) 157.25p -0.38%

WPP (WPP) 518.80p -0.35%

Whitbread (WTB) 2,915.00p -0.34%

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 20,720.00p -0.34%

Experian (EXPN) 3,852.00p -0.34%

FTSE 250 - Risers

XPS Pensions Group (XPS) 375.00p 2.74%

Rank Group (RNK) 143.60p 2.72%

Pagegroup (PAGE) 268.00p 2.21%

Just Group (JUST) 130.60p 1.56%

Travis Perkins (TPK) 595.00p 1.54%

RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 3,060.00p 1.49%

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 344.50p 1.32%

Endeavour Mining (EDV) 2,318.00p 1.22%

Ibstock (IBST) 146.00p 0.97%

HGCapital Trust (HGT) 502.00p 0.80%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 308.60p -4.75%

Target Healthcare Reit Ltd (THRL) 100.00p -2.53%

NCC Group (NCC) 141.00p -2.22%

IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 311.50p -2.20%

Moonpig Group (MOON) 207.00p -1.90%

VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 429.00p -1.72%

Man Group (EMG) 170.50p -1.56%

Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 685.00p -1.44%

Kier Group (KIE) 198.00p -1.25%

Me Group International (MEGP) 224.00p -1.10%