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(Sharecast News) - London stocks ended Friday in mixed territory as geopolitical tensions weighed on investor sentiment, following China's decision to sharply increase tariffs on US goods.
The move came in direct response to US president Donald Trump's latest tariff escalation against Chinese imports, with the White House confirming on Thursday that the rate would rise to 145%.
At the close, the FTSE 100 index was up 0.64% at 7,964.18 points, while the FTSE 250 was virtually flat, slipping 0.01% to finish at 18,514.85 points.
In currency markets, sterling was last up 0.62% on the dollar to trade at $1.3051, while it weakened 0.6% against the euro, changing hands at €1.1509.
"China's reply to US President Trump's tariff increase to 145% was to hike its levy on all US goods from 84% to 125%, starting tomorrow, stating that the numbers game had become 'a joke'," said IG senior technical analyst Axel Rudolph.
"Markets took note of the tit for tat trade war escalation with the gold price rising to a new record high at $3,244, the US 10-Year Treasury yield topping 4.5% and the greenback falling to its lowest level in three years, even to a 10-year low versus the Swiss franc.
"Stock indices suffered from investor fatigue and saw their lowest volatility day of the week."
Rudolph noted that after a turbulent week, oil prices stabilised and little changed on the day.
"Bar gold, investors aren't flocking to traditional safe haven assets such as the US dollar or Treasuries, as they no longer trust the US government."
China raises US tariffs again, calls White House actions 'a joke'
Tensions between the world's two largest economies indeed escalated further on Friday as China raised tariffs on American goods to 125%, up from 84%, in response to the United States' latest trade measures.
However, Beijing signaled it would not react to any further tariff hikes from Washington, calling them economically irrelevant.
The Chinese Ministry of Finance said there was no longer any viable market for US goods in China under current tariffs, while the Ministry of Commerce dismissed the US levies as "a joke," underscoring the deepening impasse.
Beijing's move followed a clarification from the White House a day earlier, which confirmed that total US tariffs on Chinese imports would rise to 145%, not 125% as previously believed.
The discrepancy stemmed from an additional 20% duty already announced as part of a separate action targeting China's failure to curb the export of fentanyl precursors.
Fresh economic data out of the US meanwhile painted a cooler inflation picture, with wholesale prices unexpectedly falling in March, driven by a steep drop in energy costs.
The Labor Department reported a 0.4% decline in final demand prices month-on-month, compared to expectations of a 0.2% decrease.
Annual wholesale inflation eased to 2.7% from 3.2% in February.
Food and energy prices fell sharply, by 2.1% and 4.0% respectively, while core goods prices excluding those categories rose 0.3%.
Prices for services slipped 0.2%, led by a notable drop in trade-related services.
On home shores, the UK economy delivered an upside surprise in February, with gross domestic product expanding 0.5% on the month, outpacing forecasts of 0.1% growth.
Revised data showed flat growth in January rather than the small contraction initially reported.
The services sector, which grew 0.3%, was the main driver of February's gains, while industrial production rebounded 1.5% and construction rose 0.4%, both recovering from earlier declines.
Despite the stronger economic output, UK retail activity remained subdued.
Data from the British Retail Consortium and Sensormatic revealed a 5.4% year-on-year decline in footfall during March, largely due to the late timing of Easter this year compared to 2023.
High streets, shopping centres, and retail parks all reported reduced visitor numbers, though Mother's Day provided a temporary boost to high street traffic.
"With Easter falling in April, footfall in March could not compete to last year, when families were already enjoying their Easter holidays," said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium.
"Despite this, footfall in retail parks held up better than other locations, as the expanding offer of hospitality and leisure outlets alongside retail, together with free parking, attracted more shoppers.
"Similarly, London saw only a minor dip in footfall compared to other parts of the country."
Miners in the green, BP falls on lower production outlook
On London's equity markets, gold miners were in the green as the price of the metal climbed, boosting shares in Fresnillo, Hochschild Mining and Endeavour Mining, which advanced 6.49%, 4.18% and 6.43% respectively.
The broader mining sector also performed well, with Glencore up 3.53% and Anglo American rising 3.26%.
Retailers rebounded after sharp losses in the prior session.
Tesco gained 2.88%, while J Sainsbury rose 1.92% and Marks & Spencer added 2.55%.
The recovery came despite Tesco's warning on Thursday of potential profit pressure in the year ahead due to intensifying competition.
Tesco - the UK's largest supermarket - reported a 10.6% rise in adjusted operating profit to £3.13bn for the year to February, but issued a cautious outlook for the current year, guiding for profit between £2.7bn and £3.0bn.
On the downside, BP shares fell 1.57% after the company warned of lower upstream production in the first quarter.
While oil output saw a modest rise, gas and low-carbon energy production was expected to decline.
The energy giant also flagged weakness in gas marketing and trading and was hit by a broker downgrade from UBS to 'neutral'.
Elsewhere in broker note action, Croda International edged up 0.34% despite a downgrade to 'sell' by Goldman Sachs, while Schroders slipped 0.07% after Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut its rating to 'underperform'.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,964.21 0.64%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,514.85 -0.01%
techMARK (TASX) 4,282.93 -0.08%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Fresnillo (FRES) 989.50p 7.20%
Tesco (TSCO) 327.70p 4.16%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 246.80p 3.61%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,958.00p 3.53%
Glencore (GLEN) 253.65p 3.53%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 943.80p 2.72%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,012.00p 2.68%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 377.70p 2.55%
Rightmove (RMV) 723.20p 2.47%
Haleon (HLN) 374.50p 2.46%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 2,993.00p -4.41%
St James's Place (STJ) 823.40p -4.30%
BP (BP.) 331.70p -2.90%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 6,308.00p -2.65%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,332.00p -2.06%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 240.80p -1.99%
Experian (EXPN) 3,354.00p -1.87%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 72.12p -1.77%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 3,819.00p -1.29%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,718.00p -1.17%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 299.80p 8.23%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 2,004.00p 6.43%
Urban Logistics Reit (SHED) 128.00p 3.73%
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 115.90p 3.57%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 598.50p 3.37%
Pacific Horizon Inv Trust (PHI) 541.00p 2.46%
Grainger (GRI) 200.00p 2.46%
NB Private Equity Partners Ltd. (NBPE) 1,430.00p 2.44%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 232.50p 2.42%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 219.00p 2.34%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Pagegroup (PAGE) 241.00p -8.50%
Spectris (SXS) 1,953.00p -6.29%
Renishaw (RSW) 2,175.00p -5.84%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 421.20p -4.92%
Hays (HAS) 67.10p -4.62%
Ninety One (N91) 123.20p -4.57%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 244.80p -3.92%
Bodycote (BOY) 460.00p -3.85%
Genus (GNS) 1,632.00p -3.43%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 63.80p -3.04%
