London open: Stocks flat as UK avoids doubling of US steel tariffs

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were steady in early trade as the UK avoided the doubling of US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports that has come into effect on Wednesday.

At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was flat at 8,783.71.

US President Donald Trump said in a statement that for now, the UK will be spared the 50% tariff that comes into effect. He said he had decided to "provide different treatment" to the UK following the trade agreement struck in May.

The levy for the UK remains at 25%.

Investors were also mulling the latest developments in US-China relations after Trump said in a Truth Social post that China's leader Xi Jinping was "very tough, and extremely hard to make a deal with". The two sides are due to hold talks this week.

On the macro front, the S&P Global UK services PMI for May is due at 0930 BST.

In equity markets, Babcock jumped as JPMorgan placed the shares on "positive catalyst watch" ahead of results on 25 June as it said the defence firm could raise guidance. It said Babcock is "one of the big winners" in the UK Strategic Defence Review published on Monday.

Discoverie, Paragon Banking and Ninety One all rose after results.

On the downside, discount retailer B&M European Value Retail slumped as it reported a slight rise in full-year earnings against a "challenging" economic backdrop. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 0.6% to �620m, while revenue grew 3.7% to �5.57bn.

Real estate group Hammerson fell as it announced that its chief executive of five years, Rita-Rose Gagn�, has decided to step down from her role in 2026.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,783.71 -0.04%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,071.33 0.25%

techMARK (TASX) 4,872.91 -0.14%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,265.00p 2.26%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,825.50p 1.78%

Games Workshop Group (GAW) 15,640.00p 1.43%

Anglo American (AAL) 2,210.00p 1.38%

Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,035.00p 1.27%

Glencore (GLEN) 286.00p 1.17%

Mondi (MNDI) 1,205.00p 0.96%

Kingfisher (KGF) 285.70p 0.95%

Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,300.00p 0.82%

Entain (ENT) 748.80p 0.81%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 786.80p -1.67%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 370.20p -1.17%

Pearson (PSON) 1,075.00p -0.97%

Relx plc (REL) 3,964.00p -0.65%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 285.60p -0.56%

Schroders (SDR) 362.80p -0.55%

BP (BP.) 363.40p -0.55%

GSK (GSK) 1,477.50p -0.51%

Next (NXT) 12,845.00p -0.50%

Shell (SHEL) 2,497.50p -0.50%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Discoverie Group (DSCV) 695.00p 9.79%

Ninety One (N91) 170.00p 4.81%

Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 940.00p 4.16%

W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 74.00p 2.78%

Harworth Group (HWG) 174.00p 2.65%

Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 215.00p 2.63%

Rathbones Group (RAT) 1,674.00p 2.32%

Endeavour Mining (EDV) 2,420.00p 2.28%

Chemring Group (CHG) 530.00p 2.12%

International Workplace Group (IWG) 203.60p 1.95%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

THG (THG) 25.90p -7.17%

B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 320.40p -3.49%

NCC Group (NCC) 151.80p -3.19%

Patria Private Equity Trust (PPET) 533.00p -2.74%

IG Group Holdings (IGG) 1,072.00p -2.55%

Indivior (INDV) 939.00p -1.52%

Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) 113.90p -1.47%

BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 393.00p -1.26%

Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 3,392.00p -1.22%

Fidelity European Trust (FEV) 400.50p -0.87%