London open: Stocks down as trade and geopolitics overshadow Fed meet
By Alexander Bueso
Date: Wednesday 07 May 2025
(Sharecast News) - Stocks in the UK were weaker on Wednesday despite news that US and Chinese officials would meet at the weekend to de-escalate the trade war and Beijing announced new policy stimulus.
Beijing struck a harsh tone nonetheless, warnings against what it said might even be an "attempt to continue to coerce and blackmail under the guise of talks".
Hence, perhaps, the muted reaction by Asian bourses, as initial gains quickly dissipated.
In the UK, as of 0820 GMT, the FTSE 100 was slipping by 0.30% or 25.85 points to 8,570.36.
In parallel, the S&P 500 mini futures contract was trading up by 29.0 points at 5,654.75.
June gold futures on COMEX were off by 0.85% at $3,393.60/oz..
"Just hours after Beijing finally caved-admitting it had been quietly engaging in pre-trade talks with the U.S. despite days of denials and diplomatic gaslighting-it dropped the mask and the rates," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
"The timing was no accident. This wasn't policy-it was a confession, camouflaged as a monetary tweak to steady the ship and project negotiating strength ahead of face-to-face talks with Washington. A facade of leverage, nothing more."
The People's Bank of China cut lenders' reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points, while its seven-day reverse repo rate was reduced to 1.4%.
Innes was dismissive of those new moves, emphasising that China was facing a lack of demand so the new moves might not be very effective.
"Beijing is throwing liquidity at the wall, hoping something sticks," he said.
Further dampening the mood, overnight Indian jet fighters struck what New Delhi described as terrorist training camps inside Pakistan.
Both countries had reportedly since signalled their desire not to escalate.
Still ahead for later in the day, rate-setters in the US were due to meet after the close of London markets.
No change in rates was anticipated, but investors were keen for any hints that rate cuts might be forthcoming in the third quarter.
Worth noting, the day before, US President Donald Trump had indicated that the US would make a big and positive foreign policy announcement, possibly as soon as 8 May.
Speculation was that it would have to do with the Middle East.
Big Pharma paces losses
AstraZeneca and GSK were among the top fallers on London's top-flight index after the US health regulator, the FDA, named vaccine-sceptic Vinay Prasad, as its new head.
Vodafone was also under the cost after announcing that its finance director would leave the operator by early 2026 at the latest.
BAE Systems said in an update on Wednesday that trading year-to-date was in line with management expectations and reaffirmed its full-year guidance. The FTSE 100 defence specialist noted a strong order backlog and robust pipeline, providing visibility and underpinning long-term growth. It also noted continued investment to support expansion and stated it is well positioned to benefit from increased defence spending.
Online rail ticketing platform Trainline on Wednesday reported a sharp rise in adjusted core earnings on the back of a 12% jump in sales. Adjusted EBITDA rose 30% to £159m, while operating profit surged by 54% to £86m. Group net ticket sales came in at £5.9bn.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,571.16 -0.31%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,226.16 -0.62%
techMARK (TASX) 4,600.98 -1.52%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Glencore (GLEN) 255.15p 2.99%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 288.50p 2.45%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,112.00p 2.03%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,557.50p 1.76%
Prudential (PRU) 829.20p 1.74%
Diageo (DGE) 2,190.00p 1.58%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,745.00p 1.57%
Entain (ENT) 697.80p 1.45%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 2,993.00p 1.35%
Schroders (SDR) 338.00p 1.26%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
GSK (GSK) 1,386.50p -4.38%
BT Group (BT.A) 163.45p -3.51%
St James's Place (STJ) 987.40p -2.33%
Rightmove (RMV) 732.20p -2.32%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 10,474.00p -2.11%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 71.46p -2.08%
LondonMetric Property (LMP) 193.00p -1.68%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 118.25p -1.66%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,987.00p -1.63%
SEGRO (SGRO) 677.60p -1.57%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 73.55p 5.98%
Victrex plc (VCT) 890.00p 5.08%
Zigup (ZIG) 326.00p 2.52%
Alpha Group International (ALPH) 3,115.00p 2.13%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 479.50p 1.27%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 65.50p 1.24%
RS Group (RS1) 522.50p 1.16%
Energean (ENOG) 871.00p 1.16%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 300.20p 1.08%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,312.00p 1.00%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Trainline (TRN) 256.00p -8.57%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 3,050.00p -6.01%
Genus (GNS) 1,994.00p -4.59%
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 121.10p -4.04%
Empiric Student Property (ESP) 90.00p -3.64%
Auction Technology Group (ATG) 592.00p -2.95%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 1,002.00p -2.34%
Vistry Group (VTY) 627.60p -2.33%
Harworth Group (HWG) 168.00p -2.33%
Ocean Wilsons Holdings Ltd. (OCN) 1,310.00p -2.24%
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN