London open: Sea of red as Trump tariff selloff intensifies

(Sharecast News) - London stocks tumbled in early trade on Monday following whopping losses in Asia, as the Trump tariff selloff intensified.

At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 5.5% at 7,615.32, having fallen to as low as 7,544.83. It was a veritable blood bath in equity markets, with the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index down 6%, Germany's DAX 7% lower and France's CAC 40 off 5.9%.

Speaking with reporters on board Air Force One on Sunday about recent market volatility, Trump said: "I don't want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something and we have such a horrible - we have been treated so badly by other countries because we had stupid leadership that allowed this to happen."

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The big flight to cash continues as investors seek a shelter for their money amid the tariff storm. Trump has dashed hopes for an easing of policy by calling tariffs 'medicine' and investors are absorbing the implications of this bitter pill for the global economy.

"The FTSE 100 has opened deep in the red, falling more than 5% in early trade, as pessimism spreads about the outlook for world trade. While the biggest fall this century was the pandemic induced 10.8% drop on 12 March 2020, the losses in recent days are steep, an indication of the fear spreading about the implications of the White House approach.

"The shocking turn of US policy and China's determined retaliatory action led to a rout in Asian markets, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Japan's Nikkei nursing painful losses. Banking shares experienced double digit declines during the session. Banks are seen as barometers for economic health, and given the steep losses, red lights are flashing about a looming global recession. These warnings are also showing up in the bond markets. Falling treasury yields are an indication that the chance of recession is increasingly being priced in. Oil prices are also continuing to slide, as traders assess that demand for energy will drop back sharply, given the ominous signs for global trade.

"The tech-stock turmoil looks set to rampage for another day on Wall Street. The bears are already out in force across the Nasdaq, and futures indicate another steep fall for the index. The halcyon days of cheap manufacturing and easy markets appear to be over. With, as yet, no indications of a rolling back of tariffs, investors are reassessing earnings estimates denting valuations.

"This will have a knock-on effect on US consumer confidence which has already fallen sharply. Given so many Americans invest in the stock market, which acts as a safety blanket for life's expenses, the stock market rout will dent wealth perceptions, which may make a downturn even deeper."

With stocks a sea of red yet again, the latest house price data from Halifax came and went unnoticed.

It showed that house prices fell again in March as demand returned to normal after a rush to beat the stamp duty change.

Prices declined by 0.5% on the month following a 0.2% drop in February. On the year, house prices were 2.8% higher in March, unchanged on the previous month.

The average price of a home stood at �296,699 in March, down from �298,274 in February.

Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said: "House prices rose in January as buyers rushed to beat the March stamp duty deadline. However, with those deals now completing, demand is returning to normal and new applications slowing. Our customers completed more house sales in March than in January and February combined, including the busiest single day on record. Following this burst of activity, house prices, which remain near record highs, unsurprisingly fell back last month.

"Looking ahead, potential buyers still face challenges from the new normal of higher borrowing costs, a limited supply of available properties to choose from, and an uncertain economic outlook.

"However, with further base rate cuts anticipated alongside positive wage growth, mortgage affordability should continue to improve gradually, and therefore we still expect a modest rise in house prices this year."

In equity markets, heavy losses were across the board, with only Royal Mail parent IDS managing to pop its head above water.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,645.49 -5.08%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,522.28 -4.59%

techMARK (TASX) 4,165.69 -4.84%

FTSE 100 - Risers

RELX FINANCE BV 3.375% GTD NTS 20/03/33 (BW73) 99.72p 0.00%

Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,558.00p -1.71%

Unite Group (UTG) 806.00p -2.30%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 231.40p -2.45%

LondonMetric Property (LMP) 175.10p -2.45%

Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 101.10p -2.46%

Tesco (TSCO) 331.50p -2.50%

Severn Trent (SVT) 2,548.00p -2.56%

Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,890.50p -2.58%

Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,745.00p -2.83%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Melrose Industries (MRO) 385.30p -9.34%

Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) 1,565.00p -8.48%

Babcock International Group (BAB) 628.00p -8.39%

Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 785.00p -8.23%

Barclays (BARC) 230.50p -7.82%

St James's Place (STJ) 754.00p -7.80%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 607.80p -7.77%

CRH (CDI) (CRH) 5,850.00p -7.05%

BP (BP.) 345.45p -6.81%

Shell (SHEL) 2,313.00p -6.79%

FTSE 250 - Risers

International Distribution Services (IDS) 365.40p 0.05%

Patria Private Equity Trust (PPET) 520.00p 0.00%

Tami Senior Securitisation 2 Ltd Cls A-2 Mb Fxd Rte Nts 31/12/23 (Reg S) (BP00) 0.00p 0.00%

TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 198.80p -0.10%

Renewi (RWI) 852.00p -0.35%

Ruffer Investment Company Ltd Red PTG Pref Shares (RICA) 283.00p -0.35%

NB Private Equity Partners Ltd. (NBPE) 1,404.00p -0.43%

Pollen Street Group Limited (POLN) 682.00p -0.58%

North Atlantic Smaller Companies Inv Trust (NAS) 3,310.00p -0.90%

Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited (BSIF) 87.10p -1.25%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Scottish American Inv Company (SAIN) 430.00p -9.57%

Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 821.50p -9.53%

BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 383.00p -9.03%

Senior (SNR) 115.60p -8.69%

Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 184.60p -8.61%

Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 293.00p -8.58%

Law Debenture Corp. (LWDB) 746.00p -8.58%

Impax Environmental Markets (IEM) 298.50p -8.58%

JPMorgan American Inv Trust (JAM) 827.00p -8.42%

Baillie Gifford Japan Trust (BGFD) 624.00p -8.37%