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London stocks fell in early trade on Tuesday, taking their cue from heavy losses in the US as concerns about tariffs rattled markets.
At 0855 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.5% at 8,828.21.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The FTSE 100 has retreated from record highs this morning, taking direction from Wall Street where stocks had their worst day of the year so far.
“The time for talking on tariffs is up for now with Donald Trump imposing a blanket 25% border tax on all imports from neighbouring Canada and Mexico. Canada’s hit back already with a 25% charge on $30bn of US imports with more wide-ranging reciprocal action planned for the end of the month.”
China has also announced retaliatory tariffs of up to 15% one some US goods from 10 March.
On home shores, data from the British Retail Consortium and NielsenIQ showed that shop prices were lower in February when compared with last year, as cheaper non-food items offset the impact of costlier food products, but inflation is expected to pick up over the course of 2025.
According to the Shop Price Index for last month, shop price deflation was unchanged at an annual rate of -0.7%.
Non-food deflation accelerated to a year-on-year rate of -2.1% following a 1.8% decline in prices in January, though annual food inflation rose to 2.1% from 1.6%.
Nevertheless, when compared with the month before, shop prices actually increased by 0.4%, with both food and non-food prices rising, marking the biggest increase over the past year.
“Breakfast, in particular, got more expensive as butter, cheese, eggs, bread and cereals all saw price hikes. Climbing global coffee prices could threaten to push the morning costs higher in the coming months,” said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC.
In equity markets, oil giants BP and Shell gushed lower as oil prices plunged.
Derren Nathan said: “Brent crude is now priced at under $71 per barrel as both supply and demand dynamics exert downward pressure on the value of oil. 10% of extra duties on Chinese goods have also come into effect and the potential fall-out of an all-out trade war on energy demand is at the front of traders’ minds.
“Meanwhile, OPEC+ has unexpectedly announced that it will re-open the taps on 2.2 million barrels of daily oil production from 1 April.”
Equipment rental firm Ashtead slid despite saying it expects full-year results to rise in line with previous guidance, after a record performance over the first nine months of the year, with rental revenues up 5% and adjusted EBITDA up 3%.
Greggs tumbled even as the bakery chain said annual sales passed £2bn for the first time helping to serve up an 8.3% rise in pre-tax profit to £204m.
On the upside, Intertek surged as it hiked its full-year dividend and launched a £350m share buyback programme to reward shareholders after a strong 2024 performance, with results helped by recent acquisitions.
The laboratory testing and certification business also raised its medium-term margin target after achieving its current target faster than expected.
Fresnillo shone as the precious metals miner posted a big jump in full-year sales and operating profits. Revenues rose by 26.9% to $3.64bn and its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation by more than double to $1.55bn.
Keller Group rallied as it hailed “another outstanding set” of full-year results ahead of expectations, with improved performance in all key measures.
Asset manager Abrdn gained as it said it was putting the missing vowels back into its name and reported a swing back into the black.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Intertek Group Plc | +6.11% | +315.00 | 5,470.00 |
| 2 |  |
Fresnillo | +2.32% | +17.50 | 771.50 |
| 3 |  |
Severn Trent Plc | +2.30% | +56.00 | 2,491.00 |
| 4 |  |
United Utilities Group Plc | +1.72% | +16.60 | 980.20 |
| 5 |  |
British American Tobacco Plc | +1.71% | +53.00 | 3,157.00 |
| 6 |  |
Rolls-royce | +1.52% | +11.80 | 788.60 |
| 7 |  |
Tesco Plc | +1.40% | +5.30 | 383.30 |
| 8 |  |
Gsk Plc | +1.28% | +19.00 | 1,498.50 |
| 9 |  |
Astrazeneca Plc | +1.26% | +150.00 | 12,054.00 |
| 10 |  |
Unilever Plc | +1.17% | +53.00 | 4,592.00 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Smurfit Westrock Plc | -4.44% | -182.00 | 3,914.00 |
| 2 |  |
International Consolidated Airlines Group S.a. | -4.40% | -15.20 | 330.00 |
| 3 |  |
Bp Plc | -4.16% | -18.00 | 414.75 |
| 4 |  |
Wpp Plc | -3.66% | -23.40 | 616.00 |
| 5 |  |
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd | -3.56% | -150.00 | 4,058.00 |
| 6 |  |
Aib Group Plc | -3.33% | -19.00 | 551.00 |
| 7 |  |
Carnival Plc | -3.33% | -57.00 | 1,654.00 |
| 8 |  |
Crh Plc | -3.21% | -258.00 | 7,782.00 |
| 9 |  |
Ashtead Group Plc | -3.10% | -149.00 | 4,650.00 |
| 10 |  |
Banco Santander S.a. | -3.09% | -16.00 | 501.00 |
US close: Stocks sink as Trump confirms tariffs on Mexico, Canada
US stocks finished with steep losses on Monday after Donald Trump confirmed that tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports would take effect as planned, prompting investors to scale back their appetite for risk.
Data showing a bigger-than-forecast slowdown in the manufacturing sector – owing mainly to tariff-related disruptions – and an unexpected decline in construction spending were also weighing on sentiment.
The Dow and S&P 500 fell 1.5% and 1.8%, respectively, finishing at their lowest levels since mid-January. The Nasdaq, however, plunged 2.6% to close at its lowest since early-November.
Trump said that 25% tariffs on all goods imported from Canada and Mexico would be imposed from Tuesday, after having been delayed for a month to leave space to address drug-smuggling and migration issues.
“No room left for Mexico or for Canada,” Trump said. “The tariffs, you know, they’re all set. They go into effect tomorrow.”
He also announced an additional 10% levy on Chinese imports in addition to the 10% tariffs imposed last month.
In other news, Berkshire Hathaway chief executive Warren Buffett cautioned that punitive duties could trigger inflation and hurt consumers. “They’re an act of war, to some degree,” said Buffett. “Over time, they are a tax on goods. I mean, the Tooth Fairy doesn’t pay ’em.”
US manufacturing slows
The ISM’s US manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 50.3 in February, 0.6 points lower than January, as tariff uncertainty resulted in the biggest one-month decline for new orders in four and a half years. While this was the second month of growth after 26 straight months of contraction, it still came in below the consensus forecast of 50.6.
However, the less-closely-watched S&P Global US manufacturing PMI rose to 52.7 in February, ahead of preliminary estimates of 51.6 and up from 51.2 in January for the strongest growth since June 2022.
Elsewhere, construction spending decreased by 0.2% month-on-month to $2.12trn in January, according to the Census Bureau, following December’s 0.5% increase and missing expectations for a flat month-on-month reading. Private spending was down 0.2%, while public construction slumped 1.1%.
Market movers
US supermarket chain Kroger was lower on the news that chairman and chief executive Rodney McMullen has resigned after a board investigation found that his personal conduct was “inconsistent” with the company’s “policy on business ethics”.
Intel’s share price was surging on the back of reports that semiconductor giants Nvidia and Broadcom are testing chips using its 18A manufacturing process. If tests are successful, the chip designers could commit to “hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of manufacturing contracts to Intel”, Reuters said.
Luxury conglomerate Capri Holdings was performing well on rumours that Prada is edging closer to a deal to buy its Versace brand after agreeing to a price of nearly €1.5bn. Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter as saying that Prada and Capri could finalise a deal for the Italian luxury clothing firm this month.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Tariffs, Elon Musk, public sector wage
China and Canada unveiled retaliatory measures against the US after Donald Trump imposed his sweeping tariffs plan at midnight US time, despite warnings it could spark an escalating trade war. US tariffs have come into force of 25% against goods from Canada and Mexico, the US’s two biggest trading partners, and 20% tariffs against China – doubling the levy on China from last month. – Guardian
Elon Musk’s fellowship of the Royal Society remains intact after a meeting of the scientific body, the Guardian has learned, but questions remain about whether further action will be taken. Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO who also owns the social media platform X, was elected a fellow of the UK’s national academy of sciences in 2018, apparently in recognition of his work in the space and electric vehicle industries. – Guardian
US nuclear weapons could be set to return to British soil almost two decades after Washington removed its last warheads, satellite images have revealed. The images, published in a report from the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), indicate that 22 previously mothballed nuclear bunkers at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk have undergone extensive upgrade work. – Telegraph
Taxpayers will foot £24.2bn to cover the billowing public sector wage bill incurred from “Storm Rachel” over the next five years, Telegraph analysis shows. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will hike National Insurance contributions – paid for by employers – from 13.8pc to 15pc from next month, while the threshold at which businesses start to pay will also be dropped. – Telegraph
The cost to consumers of dealing with cabling bottlenecks on Britain’s electricity network has risen by 60 per cent to more than £250 million in the first two months of the year as wind farms were paid to switch off and gas plants paid to replace them. The rapid expansion of offshore wind farms to tackle climate change has resulted in turbines being built before Britain’s transmission networks have been upgraded to carry all the power that they generate on windy days. – The Times
