(Sharecast News) - London stocks fell in early trade on Friday, taking their cue from heavy losses in the US and Asia amid concerns about Donald Trump's tariff threats.
At 0828 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 8,723.95. Losses were less pronounced than for European peers, however, with the German DAX and the benchmark Stoxx 600 index both 0.8% lower.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Tariffs continue to drive the narrative, and talk of a reprieve for Canada and Mexico has evaporated as next Tuesday's deadline approaches. President Trump has also vowed to slap an additional 10% import duty onto Chinese goods, as he leans heavily on the anti-fentanyl narrative to justify the trade restrictions. The only certainty in this saga is uncertainty, so keep a close eye on developments between now and 4 March.
"Next on the agenda is reciprocal tariffs pencilled in for 2 April with other major US trading partners. The EU, in particular, will be in focus. An amicable start to talks with UK premier Keir Starmer looks to have set the tone for a potential trade deal with the UK but with no details outlined it has not been enough to boost enthusiasm for London listed shares."
Investors were also mulling the latest data from mortgage lender Nationwide, which showed that house prices rose more than expected in February.
Prices were up 0.4% on the month following a 0.1% increase in January, beating expectations for a 0.2% jump.
On the year, house prices rose 3.9% in February, down from 4.1% the month before. The average price of a home stood at 270,493, up from 268,213.
Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner said housing market activity has remained resilient in recent months, despite ongoing affordability challenges.
"Indeed, the second half of 2024 saw a noticeable pick up in total housing transactions, which were up 14% compared with the same period in 2023," he said. "However, taking 2024 as a whole, transactions were still modestly (6%) lower than the levels prevailing before the pandemic struck in 2019.
"In terms of the pattern of transactions, it is notable that first-time buyer activity continued to recover, with mortgage completions in 2024 just 5% below 2019 levels. This represents a solid performance, given the interest rate environment - for example, five-year fixed mortgage rates are currently around 4.4% (for borrowers with a 25% deposit) compared to c2% in 2019.
"Cash transactions remained particularly robust, with activity 2% above pre-pandemic levels."
Gardner said changes to stamp duty at the start of April are likely to generate volatility in transactions in the near term, as buyers bring forward their purchases to avoid the additional tax.
"This will likely lead to a jump in transactions in March, and a corresponding period of weakness in the following months, as occurred in the wake of previous stamp duty changes."
In equity markets, Morgan Advanced Materials tumbled as it said demand in a number of its end-markets was uncertain and that it expects a mid single-digit organic revenue decline in 2025 and assumes no recovery in the second half.
On the upside, British Airways owner IAG flew higher as it reported a better-than-expected jump in annual profits after doubling earnings in the final quarter, driven by "robust" leisure travel and said it planned to return a further 1bn to shareholders.
Adjusted operating profit rose 26% to 4.4bn, beating estimates of 4.08bn.
Pearson gained as the education publisher said annual profit rose 10% and unveiled a 350m share buyback as it reiterated guidance for 2025.
IMI was also a high riser as it hailed record full-year profits and announced a further 200m share buyback.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,723.95 -0.37%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,242.14 -0.85%
techMARK (TASX) 4,724.05 -0.36%
FTSE 100 - Risers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 350.50p 3.48%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 751.60p 2.73%
Pearson (PSON) 1,371.50p 2.70%
IMI (IMI) 1,932.00p 2.11%
Haleon (HLN) 388.40p 1.57%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,402.00p 0.75%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,302.00p 0.70%
Relx plc (REL) 3,801.00p 0.48%
SSE (SSE) 1,496.50p 0.44%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,797.00p 0.39%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,726.50p -2.84%
Prudential (PRU) 707.80p -2.67%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 387.70p -2.66%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 4,106.00p -2.56%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,038.50p -2.53%
Entain (ENT) 730.00p -2.51%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,309.00p -2.29%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,714.50p -2.16%
Glencore (GLEN) 310.10p -2.13%
Fresnillo (FRES) 736.00p -2.06%
FTSE 250 - Risers
NCC Group (NCC) 130.60p 2.19%
SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 50.20p 1.21%
Pollen Street Group Limited (POLN) 742.00p 1.09%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 663.50p 0.30%
Grainger (GRI) 208.00p 0.24%
HICL Infrastructure (HICL) 111.00p 0.18%
BBGI Global Infrastructure S.A. NPV (DI) (BBGI) 142.80p 0.14%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 196.60p 0.10%
Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 3,860.00p 0.00%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 77.75p 0.00%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 230.00p -10.16%
Me Group International (MEGP) 200.00p -9.09%
Hilton Food Group (HFG) 845.00p -4.30%
AO World (AO.) 96.60p -3.98%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 81.90p -3.65%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 400.00p -3.61%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 258.00p -3.55%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,493.00p -3.37%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 66.40p -3.07%
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 244.00p -2.79%
53.53 (0.61%)
88.35
0.00