FTSE 100 logs fourth straight week of gains
The internationally-oriented FTSE 100 closed 0.2% higher, adding 0.6% for the week, while the midcap FTSE 250 index rose 0.6%. For the week, the domestically focussed index gained 1.3%.
The blue-chip index surged to all-time highs earlier this week as investors shrugged off domestic growth concerns to take comfort in a relatively US tariff-shielded market, higher commodity prices and hopes of a Bank of England rate cut.
'The FTSE 100 continues to prove that the stock market is not the economy, with rising unemployment, a black hole in the public finances, and resurgent inflation pressures doing little to dampen sentiment for the UK's top stock index,' said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.
The FTSE 100 has gained about 10% so far this year, surpassing the pan-European STOXX 600 index's 7.7% gains.
Traders are currently pricing in a 78% probability of a 25 basis-points rate cut at the Bank of England's policy meeting next month.
Among company moves, Burberry shares jumped 5.5% to their highest in nearly 17 months after the luxury brand's comparable retail sales fell less than expected. The strong earnings showed early signs of a recovery for the company that has struggled with underperformance.
The UK's personal goods index surged 5% on the back of Burberry to its highest in five months.
Heavyweight BP also gained 0.7% after the energy major said it had agreed to sell its US onshore wind business, bp Wind Energy, to US-based electricity transmission systems operator LS Power.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
US, China to resume tariff talks in effort to extend truce
US and Chinese flags and a "tariffs" label are seen in this illustration created on April 10, 2025. Photo: Reuters Listen to article Senior US and Chinese negotiators meet in Stockholm on Monday to tackle longstanding economic disputes at the centre of the countries' trade war, aiming to extend a truce keeping sharply higher tariffs at bay. China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with President Donald Trump's administration, after Beijing and Washington reached a preliminary deal in June to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs. Without an agreement, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from duties exceeding 100%. The Stockholm talks, led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, take place a day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meets Trump at his golf course in Scotland to try to clinch a deal that would likely see a 15% baseline tariff on most EU goods. Also Read: Israel announces daily pauses in Gaza fighting as aid airdrops begin Trade analysts on both sides of the Pacific say the discussions in the Swedish capital are unlikely to produce any breakthroughs but could prevent further escalation and help create conditions for Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to meet later this year. Previous US-China trade talks in Geneva and London in May and June focused on bringing US and Chinese retaliatory tariffs down from triple-digit levels and restoring the flow of rare earth minerals halted by China and Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab H20 AI chips and other goods halted by the United States. So far, the talks have not delved into broader economic issues. They include US complaints that China's state-led, export-driven model is flooding world markets with cheap goods, and Beijing's complaints that US national security export controls on tech goods seek to stunt Chinese growth. "Stockholm will be the first meaningful round of US-China trade talks," said Bo Zhengyuan, Shanghai-based partner at China consultancy firm Plenum. Trump has been successful in pressuring some other trading partners, including Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, into deals accepting higher US tariffs of 15% to 20%. He said there was a 50-50 chance that the US and the 27-member European Union could also reach a framework trade pact, adding that Brussels wanted to "make a deal very badly". Read: Six killed, scores injured in Indian temple stampede Two of Trump's top trade officials, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, will attend the Scotland talks and then travel to Stockholm. Analysts say the US-China negotiations are far more complex and will require more time. China's grip on the global market for rare earth minerals and magnets, used in everything from military hardware to car windshield wiper motors, has proved to be an effective leverage point on US industries. Trump-Xi meeting? In the background of the talks is speculation about a possible meeting between Trump and Xi in late October. Trump has said he will decide soon whether to visit China in a landmark trip to address trade and security tensions. A new flare-up of tariffs and export controls would likely derail any plans for a meeting with Xi. "The Stockholm meeting is an opportunity to start laying the groundwork for a Trump visit to China," said Wendy Cutler, vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Bessent has already said he wants to work out an extension of the August 12 deadline to prevent tariffs snapping back to 145% on the US side and 125% on the Chinese side. Still, China will likely request a reduction of multi-layered US tariffs totaling 55% on most goods and further easing of US high-tech export controls, analysts said. Beijing has argued that such purchases would help reduce the US trade deficit with China, which reached $295.5 billion in 2024. Also Read: Drone debris disrupts trains, suspends flights in Volgograd China is currently facing a 20% tariff related to the US fentanyl crisis, a 10% reciprocal tariff, and 25% duties on most industrial goods imposed during Trump's first term. Bessent has also said he would discuss with He the need for China to rebalance its economy away from exports toward domestic consumer demand. The shift would require China to put an end to a protracted property crisis and boost social safety nets to encourage household spending. Michael Froman, a former US trade representative during Barack Obama's administration, said such a shift has been a goal of US policymakers for two decades. "Can we effectively use tariffs to get China to fundamentally change their economic strategy? That remains to be seen," said Froman, now president of the Council on Foreign Relations think-tank.
Business Recorder
12 hours ago
- Business Recorder
US business delegation to visit China, SCMP says
A high-level delegation from the US-China Business Council will visit China this week and is expected to meet senior Chinese officials, the South China Morning Post reported on Sunday, citing two sources familiar with the matter. US, China reach deal to ease export curbs Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Business Recorder
12 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Trump, EU's von der Leyen to meet on Sunday to clinch trade deal, avert trade war
BRUSSELS/EDINBURGH: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is set to meet US President Donald Trump on Sunday to clinch a trade deal for Europe that would likely see a 15% baseline tariff on most EU goods, but end months of uncertainty for EU companies. Trump, in Scotland for a few days of golfing and bilateral meetings, told reporters upon his arrival on Friday evening that von der Leyen was a highly respected leader and he was looking forward to meeting with her on his golf course in Turnberry. He said there was a 50-50 chance that the U.S. and the 27-member European Union could reach a framework trade pact, adding that Brussels wanted to 'make a deal very badly.' The EU faces U.S. tariffs on more than 70% of its exports, with 50% on steel and aluminium, 25% on cars and car parts and a 10% levy on most other EU goods. Trump has said he would hike the rate to 30% on August 1, a level EU officials said would wipe out whole chunks of transatlantic commerce. Further tariffs on copper and pharmaceuticals are looming. A 15% tariff on most EU goods would be seen by many in Europe as a poor outcome compared to the initial European ambition of a zero-for-zero tariff deal on all industrial goods. But it would be better than 30% and it would remove uncertainty about business conditions that has already hit profits of European companies. For Trump a deal with the EU would be the biggest trade agreement, surpassing the $550 billion accord reached with Japan earlier this week. Trump, who is seeking to reorder the global economy and reduce decades-old U.S. trade deficits, has so far reeled in agreements with Britain, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, although his administration has failed to deliver on a promise of '90 deals in 90 days.' The EU deal would be a huge prize, given that the US and EU are each other's largest trading partners by far and account for a third of global trade. While close, a deal still requires some final negotiations. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick departed Washington for Scotland on Saturday for talks with EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, who is also travelling to Scotland, before the Trump-von der Leyen meeting. 'We're cautiously optimistic that there will be a deal reached,' said a Trump administration official, who spoke on he condition of anonymity. 'But it's not over till it's over.' In case there is no deal and the U.S. imposes 30% tariffs from August 1, the EU prepared countertariffs on 93 billion euros ($109 billion) of U.S. goods. EU diplomats have said a possible deal would likely include a broad 15% tariff on EU goods imported into the US, mirroring the US-Japan deal, along with a 50% tariff on European steel and aluminium. Trump told reporters there was 'not a lot' of wiggle room on the 50% tariffs that the U.S. has on steel and aluminium imports, adding, 'because if I do it for one, I have to do it for all.' It remains unclear if Washington would exempt EU imports from other sectoral tariffs on automobiles, pharmaceuticals and other goods that have already been announced or are pending although EU officials are hopeful the 15% baseline tariff would apply also to cars and pharmaceuticals.
