London midday: Stocks extend losses as tariffs rattle markets

9th Apr 2025 11:59

(Sharecast News) - London stocks had extended losses by midday on Wednesday as Trump's sweeping tariffs came into force, including a swingeing 104% on China.

The FTSE 100 was down 2.9% at 7,681.83.

Dozens of countries, including a number of America's traditional trading partners, have had so-called reciprocal tariffs imposed on them by Washington, the highest in decades.

China's record rate was announced after Beijing refused to rule out retaliatory levies on US products.

The tariff regime, first announced on 2 April, has caused carnage on global markets, sending both equities and oil tumbling.

Equity markets rallied yesterday following days of falls, but Asian markets slumped once again overnight as the tariffs took effect.

Trump acknowledged the tariffs had been "somewhat explosive". But he insisted: "After years of being ripped off, it's America's turn to do the ripping." He also said countries remained keen to negotiate trade deals with the Washington.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Yesterday's fragile recovery in stocks has been shattered by renewed selling as reciprocal tariffs on what the Trump administration regards as the 'worst offenders' comes into effect.

"Investors had initially taken some positives from a willingness in the White House to negotiate with Japan and Israel but an escalation with China triggered another sell-off on financial markets. US consumers buy a lot of goods from China, so the 104% tariff could stoke inflation big time.

"Investors are looking for any indication that the US government might blink in the face of the turmoil. For now, there are no signs of a willingness to back down or hit pause on tariffs. The longer the situation persists, the harder and more complex it will be to unpick.

"A trend which will be watched closely is an apparent loss, whether temporary or otherwise, of US assets' safe-haven status. Treasuries sold off heavily amid some speculation China and other parties are dumping their holdings as a retaliatory tool. The dollar also remains under the cosh.

"Government bonds in the UK and across Europe were under pressure too and market weakness was apparent among names which had been spared the worst of the selling thus far with the pharmaceutical sector taking its medicine."

In equity markets, pharma giants GSK and AstraZeneca both fell sharply after Trump said on Tuesday that the US would soon announce a "major" tariff on pharmaceutical imports.

Recruiter PageGroup fell as it said that its slower end to the fourth quarter has continued into the new financial year, with the full-year outlook now uncertain due to an "increasingly unpredictable economic environment".

On the upside, precious metals miner Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining both shone as gold prices advanced amid a flight to safety.

Assura rallied after saying it had rejected a £1.5bn merger proposal from Primary Health Properties as it was "not at a level that is sufficient to be recommended to shareholders".

Instead, Assura has agreed to be bought by a consortium of private equity firm KKR and Stonepeak in a £1.6bn deal.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,681.83 -2.89%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,897.06 -2.46%

techMARK (TASX) 4,155.67 -3.19%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Fresnillo (FRES) 874.00p 1.39%

Airtel Africa (AAF) 148.80p 0.74%

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

Entain (ENT) 516.20p -0.35%

3i Group (III) 3,531.00p -0.39%

Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 726.40p -0.49%

Next (NXT) 10,955.00p -0.54%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 235.00p -0.68%

Kingfisher (KGF) 243.70p -0.77%

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 10,780.00p -0.87%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

AstraZeneca (AZN) 9,717.00p -6.33%

GSK (GSK) 1,258.50p -6.12%

Melrose Industries (MRO) 381.70p -6.10%

BP (BP.) 335.40p -5.32%

SEGRO (SGRO) 595.00p -4.65%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 226.80p -4.59%

Schroders (SDR) 289.20p -4.55%

Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) 1,578.00p -4.42%

WPP (WPP) 495.90p -4.27%

Land Securities Group (LAND) 500.00p -4.21%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Assura (AGR) 47.50p 5.09%

BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 394.00p 2.07%

Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 220.00p 1.62%

Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,761.00p 1.32%

B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 279.00p 0.50%

Pets at Home Group (PETS) 217.20p 0.18%

Ruffer Investment Company Ltd Red PTG Pref Shares (RICA) 285.00p 0.00%

AO World (AO.) 92.30p 0.00%

TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 199.40p 0.00%

Harworth Group (HWG) 165.50p 0.00%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 233.80p -7.95%

ITV (ITV) 64.85p -6.89%

International Workplace Group (IWG) 152.40p -6.56%

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 124.10p -6.27%

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 420.50p -5.80%

Abrdn (ABDN) 123.30p -5.66%

Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 813.50p -5.63%

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 101.40p -5.41%

Harbour Energy (HBR) 160.50p -5.37%

VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 363.00p -5.35%