FTSE 100’s winning streak falters as White House ‘clouds’ market sentiment
The FTSE 100 slid into the red on Thursday putting the index on course to end an eight-day consecutive run of gains.
The blue-chip index was down over one per cent in early trading before a late-morning rebound left it broadly flat at midday.
London’s blue-chips soared at the beginning of the week as President Donald Trump dialled back on his explosive rhetoric.
But the President’s continuous bait-and-switch has left markets stuck in a rut.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “While markets have been fired up in recent days amid expectations for Donald Trump to backtrack on more tariffs, investors know what he says and what he does aren’t always the same thing.
“It now feels like markets want solid evidence of Trump taking a more softly-softly approach before shares can rally further.”
Mould added investors were “treated to a barrage of corporate news to get their heads around”.
Legal & General was the FTSE 100’s top faller at five per cent as it traded without the rights to its next dividend.
The index’s ‘Big Five’ lenders – Natwest, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and Standard Chartered – all slumped. All five will post first-quarter earnings next week, where tariffs are expected to cast a shadow on forward looking guidance.
Investors ‘hanging onto’ Trump’s every word
Trump’s hounding of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell had spooked investors, adding to damaged sentiment from the President’s drastic tariff plans.
But the mood shifted as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he anticipated “de-escalations” in the US and China trade war in the near future.
Trump followed this telling reporters in the Oval Office the 145 per cent levy slapped on China would “come down substantially”.
Gold shed around three per cent on Wednesday, as Trump’s changing tone triggered investors to retreat from the safe haven.
The yellow metal hit a record high of $3,500.05 in the previous session.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown said: “Gold lost some of its shine as traders dipped a toe back into riskier assets, though gains in equities faded slightly into the close on lighter volumes and are expected to open a touch lower after a few comments from the White House that, big surprise, clouded the picture.”
As markets slipped on Thursday, gold was back over $3,300 after jumping over one per cent.
Elsewhere, Germany’s Dax and France’s Cac40 had shed 0.2 per cent by midday, keeping the trend of the FTSE out-performing its European peers.
Britzman said: “The investing world is back to hanging onto every word out of the White House, but with such a confusing and often contradictory stance on tariffs, volatility is all we can really guarantee.”