London open: FTSE recovers after Monday's losses
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Tuesday 01 Apr 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Tuesday, recovering from heavy losses in the previous session driven by worries about Trump's tariff threats.
At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.8% at 8,655.26, having closed down 0.9% on Monday.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "What a difference a day makes, European stocks have bounced at the start of the new quarter and indices are a sea of green.
"The focus is on the US reciprocal tariff announcement that is due tomorrow. At this stage, hopes are that a recovery rally could take hold if Trump's tariff announcements are seen as the final move from the White House in its trade war, and if the new levies are reasonably easy to comply with.
"The downside risk for stocks could emerge once more if Trump suggests that even more tariffs could be coming down the line or if there is a lack of clarity about reciprocal tariffs in the announcement. Markets are hoping for a clean decision, that allows traders to move on from tariffs."
On home shores, data from Nationwide showed that house prices stagnated in March and are likely to remain "a little soft" in the coming months due to stamp duty changes.
House prices were up 3.9% on the year in March, unchanged on February. On the month, prices were flat, having risen 0.4% in February.
The average price of a home stood at £271,316 last month, versus £270,493 in February.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said: "These price trends are unsurprising, given the end of the stamp duty holiday at the end of March (transactions associated with mortgage approvals made in March, especially toward the end of the month, would be unlikely to complete before the deadline).
"Indeed, the market is likely to remain a little soft in the coming months since activity will have been brought forward to avoid the additional tax obligations - a pattern typically observed in the wake of the end of stamp duty holidays.
"Nevertheless, activity is likely to pick up steadily as the summer progresses, despite wider economic uncertainties in the global economy, since underlying conditions for potential home buyers in the UK remain supportive."
Investors were also mulling the latest data from the British Retail Consortium, which showed that shop prices slipped in March as retailers held back from hiking rates.
Prices at UK tills declined by 0.2% last month following a 0.4% increase in February, the monthly BRC-NielsenIQ Shop Price Index showed, with non-food prices falling 0.2% and food prices holding steady.
However, compared with March 2024, overall shop prices fell 0.4%, following a 0.7% year-on-year decline the month before. While annual food inflation accelerated to 2.4% from 2.1%, non-food deflation eased to -1.9% from -2.1%.
Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at NielsenIQ, said increased competition and seasonal promotions were the reason for the overall drop in prices last month, as retailers compete to lure in "reluctant shoppers".
"With upwards pressure on prices, retailers may also need some focussed price cuts to help footfall in the run up to the late Easter," he said.
In equity markets, banks were among the top performers, with Barclays, HSBC and NatWest all higher.
Irish convenience food manufacturer Greencore surged as it lifted its full-year profit outlook following a strong second quarter.
Spire Healthcare advanced after saying it had bought Acorn Occupational Health for £3.3m.
In broker note action, AJ Bell was boosted by an upgrade to 'buy' at Deutsche Bank.
Travis Perkins tanked as the builders' merchant said it barely broke even in 2024 as it had to contend with falling volumes and prices and an underperforming merchanting business, as well as £139m in impairment charges.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,655.26 0.84%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,543.51 0.35%
techMARK (TASX) 4,646.01 0.84%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Barclays (BARC) 293.45p 2.33%
GSK (GSK) 1,489.00p 2.05%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 11,438.00p 2.01%
easyJet (EZJ) 449.90p 1.97%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 353.90p 1.90%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 263.30p 1.69%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 885.30p 1.61%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,085.00p 1.60%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 456.90p 1.48%
Centrica (CNA) 151.60p 1.34%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 229.60p -2.04%
Tesco (TSCO) 328.00p -0.45%
BP (BP.) 434.05p -0.28%
SSE (SSE) 1,595.50p -0.16%
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 6,730.00p -0.15%
Entain (ENT) 575.00p -0.07%
Shell (SHEL) 2,819.50p -0.05%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 3,500.00p 0.00%
RELX FINANCE BV 3.375% GTD NTS 20/03/33 (BW73) 99.72p 0.00%
National Grid (NG.) 1,010.00p 0.05%
FTSE 250 - Risers
NCC Group (NCC) 145.60p 4.75%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 72.05p 3.15%
Computacenter (CCC) 2,500.00p 2.29%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,511.00p 2.23%
PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 1,232.00p 2.09%
OSB Group (OSB) 436.20p 1.77%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 51.75p 1.77%
Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 292.00p 1.74%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 60.80p 1.67%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 55.70p 1.64%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Travis Perkins (TPK) 500.50p -9.00%
Petershill Partners (PHLL) 226.00p -4.84%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 202.00p -3.81%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 271.40p -2.44%
Premier Foods (PFD) 180.00p -2.17%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 297.80p -1.97%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 277.00p -1.46%
Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 3,260.00p -1.21%
JPMorgan Indian Investment Trust (JII) 970.00p -0.92%
Spectris (SXS) 2,292.00p -0.78%
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