London midday: Easing trade tensions push stocks higher
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Wednesday 23 Apr 2025
(Sharecast News) - Rising hopes that the US and China may some day agree to a new trade deal saw the return of risk appetite on London's equity markets on Wednesday, pushing the FTSE 100 to its highest level in three weeks.
Strong gains from the mining and financial sectors, and individual performances from heavyweights Croda and BP, were providing a big lift to the top-tier index in morning trade.
The Footsie was 1.3% higher at 8,438 just before lunchtime, trading at its highest level since 3 April - the day after Donald Trump first unveiled sweeping tariffs on America's trading partners.
Trade tensions between the US and China - which have weighed heavily on markets over recent weeks - eased overnight after America's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there "will be a de-escalation" in the administration's trade war with Beijing. "No one thinks the current status quo is sustainable," he said, adding that, while negotiations had not yet begun, a deal with China was still possible.
Also helping investor sentiment were comments from Trump who reassured markets he has no plans to fire Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, only days after calling him a "major loser" for not cutting interest rates. The central banker said last week that the administration's tariff policies posed upside risks to inflation and downside risks to growth.
"These comments have given markets a sense of optimism that recent chaos might have peaked and we're heading towards calmer waters. It almost suggests that someone has taken Trump to one side and told him it's time to be more responsible with his words and actions," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
In other news, economic data was making headlines after the S&P Global purchasing managers' indices showed a unexpected contraction in UK private sector activity for the first time in 18 months. The composite PMI dropped to 48.2 in April, down from 51.5 in March and the lowest reading since November 2022, with new export orders dropping at their sharpest rate since May 2020.
Meanwhile, data showed UK public sector borrowing figures rose above forecasts, while the HCOB eurozone composite PMI fell more than expected to 50.1 in April from 50.9.
Croda, BP, miners and financials provide a boost
Leading the risers with a 9% gain was specialty chemicals outfit Croda after reporting an 8% increase in first-quarter sales and reiterating its full-year profit forecasts. While acknowledging increased geopolitical uncertainty and the introduction of global trade tariffs, the company said its localised manufacturing and procurement strategy provided insulation, adding that it was assessing the impact with plans to apply a tariff surcharge if needed.
Energy major BP was up nearly 6% after hedge fund and activist investor Elliott disclosed a stake of more than 5% and raised pressure on management to increase spending cuts and improve free cash flow.
With the exception of precious metals stocks, miners were performing well as risk appetite returned, with heavyweights Glencore, Anglo American and Antofagasta among the best performers. Financial stocks, which had recently also been weighed down by weaker economic prospects on the back of escalating trade tensions, also gained, including HSBC, Standard Chartered and Barclays.
Bucking the trend were precious metal miners as gold prices slumped 2.3%, pulling back after hitting fresh record highs the previous session. Fresnillo also fell after reporting a 10% decline in attributable silver production and a 24% drop in gold output in the first quarter, compared with three months earlier. Smaller peer Hoshchild dropped 10% after reporting that operations in Brazil were affected by adverse weather conditions in April.
Meanwhile, consumer products group Reckitt underwhelmed despite maintaining full-year guidance. In a first-quarter update. the company reported a 3.1% rise in like-for-like net revenue for its core business.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,438.32 1.32%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,466.60 1.19%
techMARK (TASX) 4,416.39 0.73%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Croda International (CRDA) 2,981.00p 9.43%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,670.50p 6.71%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,165.50p 6.47%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,081.00p 5.72%
BP (BP.) 378.70p 5.50%
Glencore (GLEN) 270.25p 5.44%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 6,598.00p 4.83%
Spirax Group (SPX) 6,050.00p 4.49%
Barclays (BARC) 292.25p 4.38%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 835.30p 4.37%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 4,626.00p -6.55%
Fresnillo (FRES) 980.00p -5.68%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,698.00p -2.28%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 70.68p -2.11%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 257.20p -2.06%
Haleon (HLN) 378.90p -1.94%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 401.60p -1.93%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,674.00p -1.85%
SSE (SSE) 1,606.00p -1.77%
Next (NXT) 11,920.00p -1.73%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 54.10p 9.74%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,630.00p 4.82%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 220.00p 4.66%
Renishaw (RSW) 2,245.00p 4.66%
Mobico Group (MCG) 59.55p 4.57%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 336.50p 4.50%
Carnival (CCL) 1,254.00p 4.50%
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 123.00p 4.33%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 262.40p 4.21%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 236.50p 3.96%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 274.00p -10.16%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 2,098.00p -2.87%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,075.00p -1.01%
Currys (CURY) 99.70p -0.99%
Deliveroo Class (ROO) 132.80p -0.97%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 670.00p -0.89%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 2,982.00p -0.80%
Pennon Group (PNN) 493.00p -0.76%
Supermarket Income Reit (SUPR) 78.20p -0.76%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 106.80p -0.74%
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