FTSE 100 stages tentative recovery after sweeping losses
The UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 opened 1.5 per cent higher this morning, recovering some of the losses recorded over the past three trading days amid the fallout of US president Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
Yesterday, the FTSE 100 slumped more than four per cent as global stock markets digested the effects of a potential global trade war.
But in early deals this morning, the market staged a tentative recovery.
The domestically-focused FTSE 250 jumped 1.6 per cent upon in early deals, while the Stoxx Europe index 600 rose 1.4 per cent.
FTSE 100 commodities-focused stocks lead the market higher thanks to rising commodity prices. BP jumped 2.6 per cent, while miners Antofagasta and Glencore rose three per cent.
US-focused tech stocks on the FTSE 100, like Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Polar Capital Technology Trump, have also performed strongly this morning.
Meanwhile, the pound rose 0.46 per cent after falling to a one-year low yesterday of around $1.27.
US stocks have also continued to recover from their sharp crash over recent days, with Dow Jones futures up 1.7 per cent and S&P futures rising 1.3 per cent.
“This should hardly be seen as the end of the trouble, especially with President Trump showing no signs of easing his stance on perceived trade imbalances,” warned Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Despite threats from Trump to hike tariffs on China to more than 100 per cent, Asian markets have not been phased by the news.
Japan’s Nikkei jumped six per cent this morning, while the Chinese Hang Seng and Shanghai Stock Exchange indexes rose up 1.2 and 1.4 respectively.
Gold, which was hit hard by uncertainty over Trump’s tariffs, was up one per cent this morning to back over $3,000, but is still down 3.7 per cent in the last week.
“The underlying demand drivers haven’t gone away, with investors looking to the rare metal as a way to shelter from some of the volatility plaguing equity markets,” added Britzman.