London open: FTSE slides after Trump tariff bombshell

(Sharecast News) - London stocks slid in early trade on Thursday as Donald Trump's aggressive tariff announcement rattled markets.

At 0825 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 1.1% at 8,510.82, while sterling was 0.8% higher against the dollar at 1.3112, after the US president announced a range of tariffs on countries around the world, including the UK.

Holding up a large chart detailing the affected countries at a press conference in the White House, the US president announced a new 10% baseline tariffs on all goods imported into the US.

But there was also a range of higher rates for countries that the Trump administration believes have high trade barriers to US imports.

The European Union will be hit with a 20% tariff on top of the 10% baseline. Trump called the bloc "tough traders" who "rip us off. It's so sad to see. It's pathetic".

Japan and South Korea, countries with traditionally good relationships with the US, were hit with reciprocal rates of 24% and 25% respectively. Vietnam was hit with a 46% rate, India with 26% and Thailand with 36%.

China's rate was 34%, which Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said extended to 54% when combined with an earlier 20% rate announced in February. A separate rate of 32% was imposed on Taiwan.

The UK, Brazil and Singapore escaped higher reciprocal taxes, but still got the 10% baseline.

One of the few countries to avoid tariffs entirely was Russia.

The UK said it remained committed to negotiating an economic deal with the US.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Trump's bold attempt to reshape international trade has sent shockwaves through global markets. The effects of 'Liberation Day' are being felt far and wide, with Asian markets down overnight, European stocks under pressure in early trading, and US futures pointing to a big drop later today. With tariffs reaching levels unseen in over a century, the US is poised to rake in an additional $600bn in tariff revenue in an optimistic scenario, or put that another way, that'd be a $600bn added cost for businesses or consumers to stomach.

"While economists scramble to predict the impact on inflation and global growth, businesses around the world are getting their first real look at what a tariff-heavy US trade policy means, and this may just be the beginning of a fresh round of tariff drama. Each country now faces the option of negotiating from this starting point, which, in theory, represents the worst-case scenario. A carrot has been dangled, but if countries opt for the stick, retaliation could mean things get worse before they get better. That doesn't make it any easier for businesses to make clear-cut decisions about major investments in their supply chains, so we can expect volatility to stick around for the foreseeable future.

"The UK, meanwhile, may seem to have fared better than some, but its deep ties to the global economy make a slowdown in growth almost unavoidable and the FTSE 100 has been caught up in the global market sell-off. The government is taking a pragmatic approach, hoping for a trade deal that could ease some of the tariff burden. However, with uncertainty looming large, where we go from here is hard to call and markets rarely respond well to uncertainty."

As investors fled to safety, gold prices rallied again, hitting a fresh all-time high just after the announcement before pulling back a touch this morning.

Britzman said: "There's a lot of debate about whether gold adds real value to a portfolio in the long run, but investors are clearly leaning in to take some shorter-term risk off the table."

In equity markets, Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered was the biggest loser on the FTSE 100, closely followed by paper and packaging group Mondi and JD Sports.

Electrical retailer Currys surged as it lifted annual earnings guidance after "robust" trading since the start of the year. Group adjusted profit before tax is now expected to be around �160m, compared to previous guidance of �145m to �155m, Currys said.

Real estate investment group Primary Health Properties fell after saying it has made a �1.5bn takeover proposal for Assura, the developer and manager of GP and primary care buildings.

Under the cash and shares proposal, Assura shareholders will receive 0.3848 new PHP shares and 9.08p in cash, implying a value of 46.2p per Assura share - a 23.5% premium to its closing share price on the day before the offer period commenced.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,510.82 -1.13%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,382.12 -1.36%

techMARK (TASX) 4,598.13 -0.14%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Diageo (DGE) 2,090.00p 2.10%

GSK (GSK) 1,461.00p 1.92%

National Grid (NG.) 1,025.00p 1.69%

AstraZeneca (AZN) 11,408.00p 1.60%

Haleon (HLN) 394.20p 1.55%

United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,038.00p 1.37%

Severn Trent (SVT) 2,579.00p 1.34%

SSE (SSE) 1,594.00p 1.27%

Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,087.00p 1.12%

Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,852.00p 1.06%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,069.00p -7.25%

Mondi (MNDI) 1,090.50p -6.27%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 66.84p -5.78%

Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 541.00p -5.67%

Barclays (BARC) 283.00p -4.63%

CRH (CDI) (CRH) 6,620.00p -4.45%

Anglo American (AAL) 2,057.00p -4.33%

Ashtead Group (AHT) 3,991.00p -4.29%

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 8,100.00p -3.71%

St James's Place (STJ) 911.20p -3.68%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Currys (CURY) 95.90p 7.81%

FirstGroup (FGP) 165.30p 5.29%

NCC Group (NCC) 145.60p 2.82%

SSP Group (SSPG) 158.10p 2.40%

Pennon Group (PNN) 464.40p 1.22%

W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 69.00p 1.17%

The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (TRIG) 76.90p 0.79%

Pagegroup (PAGE) 298.80p 0.74%

Spirent Communications (SPT) 191.40p 0.63%

Twentyfour Income Fund Limited Ord Red (TFIF) 112.80p 0.53%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 142.20p -10.11%

Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 391.80p -7.46%

Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 538.00p -7.40%

VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 400.00p -6.98%

Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 344.50p -5.62%

Ferrexpo (FXPO) 52.00p -4.94%

Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 270.80p -4.92%

Dr. Martens (DOCS) 50.40p -4.91%

4Imprint Group (FOUR) 3,610.00p -4.87%

Breedon Group (BREE) 428.20p -4.84%