LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - London stocks ended higher on Monday as investors shrugged off US president Donald Trump's latest tariff announcement, of a 25% duty on steel imports across the board.
The FTSE 100 index gained 0.77% to close at 8,767.80 points, while the FTSE 250 rose 0.86% to 20,986.28 points.

In currency markets, sterling was last down 0.19% on the dollar to trade at $1.2378, as it edged down 0.01% against the euro, changing hands at €1.2009.

"Had an investor just woken up from a month asleep, it would seem that there wasn't much to worry global markets right now," quipped IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

"Friday's inflation panic and tariff jitters have been entirely forgotten over the weekend.

"This Monday is very different from its two predecessors."

Beauchamp noted that a fortnight ago saw the DeepSeek AI news roil markets, and a week ago it was the tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China.

"The third time has been the charm for investors, who have surged back into the market despite recent developments. As ever, markets climb the wall of worry.

"Gold's procession of record highs has become an almost daily occurrence - tariff fears and inflation worries continue to burnish the safe-haven angle, while today's softer dollar has made the path higher much smoother.

"Oil prices have gained too, but after three weeks of losses it is far from clear that the downward move is over."

Trump announces 25pc tariffs on steel, aluminium imports

Hogging the economic headlines was news that the US will introduce 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports starting Monday, as announced by Donald Trump over the weekend, marking the latest move in his administration's protectionist trade agenda.

The measures came ahead of further retaliatory tariffs that Trump has pledged to introduce against countries imposing duties on American-made goods.

Speaking aboard Air Force One en route to the Super Bowl, he defended the policy as a reciprocal response to foreign tariffs on US exports.

The US is the world's largest steel importer, with about a quarter of its steel supply coming from overseas.

Canada, Brazil, and Mexico account for roughly half of those imports, while Canada is also the primary source of aluminium.

The tariff decision follows last year's failed bid by Japan's Nippon Steel to acquire US Steel, which was blocked by both former president Joe Biden and Trump over national security concerns.

Trump had since said he would only support a minority stake for the Japanese firm in the American steelmaker.

Meanwhile, China announced $14bn in tariffs on US-made goods in response to Washington's blanket 10% duty on Chinese imports.

The move has dashed hopes of avoiding an escalation in trade tensions between the world's two largest economies.

"Hopes that the US could roll back on tariffs like it did with Mexico and Canada were dashed, and the new measures from China will also include export restrictions for rare earth minerals, which are vital to produce smart phones, some chips, batteries and infrastructure for renewable technology, which could weigh on tech stocks at the start of this week," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.

BP surges on Elliott stake reports, Drax rises on CfD deal

On London's equity markets, BP surged 7.41% after a Bloomberg report revealed that Elliott Investment Management had acquired a significant stake in the oil giant.

The news of the activist investor's stake fuelled speculation of potential strategic changes.

"The firm is sure to face pressure to make substantial changes, from an overhaul of its green bets to a shake-up of the board," said Neil Wilson, analyst at TipRanks.

"Probably also expect a big shift to focus on upstream capital projects to improve cash flow.

"So, the shift will be to move away from spending on green stuff that doesn't really pay to investing in cash generative oil and gas production. Simples, really."

Elsewhere, Kosmos Energy added 3.15% after announcing that its BP-operated Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project, offshore Mauritania and Senegal, had begun liquified natural gas production.

Meanwhile, Johnson Matthey rose 0.91% as the chemicals group confirmed leadership changes, with chair Patrick Thomas set to step down and its CFO being replaced by DS Smith's head of finance.

Fresnillo gained 4.84%, benefiting from record-high gold prices following Donald Trump's announcement of tariffs on steel and aluminium.

Drax Group climbed 3.78% after securing a preliminary agreement with the UK government to extend the operation of its North Yorkshire power station beyond 2027 under a new low-carbon Contract for Difference (CfD) scheme.

The contract set a strike price of £113 per megawatt-hour, indexed to inflation.

ITV advanced 4.73% on a Financial Times report suggesting major shareholders supported management's efforts to explore a potential sale of its production arm.

Talks had reportedly been held with RedBird IMI, the Abu Dhabi-backed group that acquired All3Media last year.

In broker-driven moves, Spectris gained 2.27% after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to 'overweight,' while British Airways and Aer Lingus owner International Consolidated Airlines Group fell 2.98% after Goldman Sachs downgraded it to 'neutral.'

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,767.80 0.77%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,986.28 0.86%
techMARK (TASX) 4,753.75 0.82%

FTSE 100 - Risers

BP (BP.) 465.15p 7.36%
Fresnillo (FRES) 802.00p 4.84%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,366.00p 2.83%
Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 446.70p 2.74%
Prudential (PRU) 681.20p 2.62%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 119.25p 2.40%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,261.00p 2.35%
Centrica (CNA) 140.20p 2.27%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 147.60p 2.22%
Haleon (HLN) 386.90p 2.06%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 353.40p -3.52%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 8,214.00p -1.75%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,984.00p -1.71%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,180.50p -1.38%
easyJet (EZJ) 523.20p -1.28%
Diageo (DGE) 2,196.00p -1.17%
SSE (SSE) 1,542.00p -1.15%
Aviva (AV.) 507.20p -1.01%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 617.40p -0.99%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,252.50p -0.67%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Foresight Group Holdings Limited NPV (FSG) 389.00p 4.85%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 113.00p 4.82%
ITV (ITV) 77.55p 4.73%
Vistry Group (VTY) 605.50p 4.49%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 239.50p 4.04%
International Workplace Group (IWG) 188.90p 3.85%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 271.50p 3.82%
Drax Group (DRX) 659.00p 3.78%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 395.00p 3.62%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,781.00p 3.25%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 67.00p -2.33%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 93.20p -2.10%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 71.30p -1.99%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,184.50p -1.78%
IP Group (IPO) 50.30p -1.67%
Carnival (CCL) 1,927.00p -1.63%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 562.50p -1.49%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 634.00p -1.25%
Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) 646.00p -1.22%
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 91.50p -1.19%

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