London midday: FTSE extends gains, outperforms European peers
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Monday 14 Jul 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks had extended gains by midday on Monday, outperforming European peers after Donald Trump announced plans to impose 30% levies on imports from the European Union and Mexico.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 8,976.48. At the same time, sterling was flat against the dollar at 1.3488, having fallen earlier after Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said in an interview with The Times that there was potential for larger cuts to interest rates if the UK jobs market slows quickly.
Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said: "The week begins with tariffs once again dominating the agenda for financial markets as US president Donald Trump suggests imports from Mexico and the European Union will be hit by levies of 30% from the beginning of August.
"That has put indices in mainland Europe under significant pressure, although the FTSE 100 stood out for its more resilient performance as the UK index moved 0.3% higher. With the UK having already reached an agreement on a 10% tariff for trade with the US, with exemptions for certain industries, the country is now seen to have an advantage in terms of trade relations.
"Unlike their counterparts across the Channel, British companies should be able to operate with greater certainty around trade, and exports may be diverted through the UK. This might act as a push for foreign companies to invest in manufacturing and logistics facilities in the UK.
"The last few months have taught us that a lot can change on a daily basis, let alone over several weeks, so investors will be watching closely to see where we land by 1 August."
Looking to the rest of the week, attention will turn to the US, where earnings season kicks off with the big banks. Results are due on Tuesday from JPMorgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, while Bank of America and Goldman Sachs are among those slated to report on Wednesday.
In equity markets, Associated British Foods was the standout performer on the FTSE 100 after Panmure Liberum upgraded shares of the Primark owner to 'buy' from 'hold' and hiked the price target to 2,600p from 1,900p.
Panmure said the market underestimates the pace of recovery of Sugar profits, with actions already taken to address underperforming businesses.
Precious metals miner Fresnillo and gold miner Hochschild shone as gold and silver prices advanced.
Ashmore gained as it said assets under management increased by $1.4bn over the three months ended 30 June, made up of a positive investment performance of $2.2bn and net outflows of $800.0m.
Asia-focused Standard Chartered and Prudential rallied after data showed that Chinese exports jumped in June as companies took advantage of a temporary ceasefire in the country's trade war with Washington.
According to the General Administration of Customs, exports rose 5.8% last month, a gain on May's 4.8% rise and more than the 5% expected.
Wizz Air flew higher as it announced plans to exit its Abu Dhabi operations and focus on core markets.
On the downside, sales, marketing and support services group DCC fell after agreeing to sell its Info Tech business in the UK and Ireland to private equity investor Aurelius for around £100m.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,976.48 0.40%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,683.28 0.32%
techMARK (TASX) 5,161.87 0.39%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,111.00p 3.08%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,555.00p 2.57%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 284.60p 1.50%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 10,606.00p 1.49%
Kingfisher (KGF) 279.90p 1.34%
National Grid (NG.) 1,041.50p 1.31%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 346.80p 1.26%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,647.00p 1.19%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 81.38p 1.17%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,104.00p 1.10%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Spirax Group (SPX) 6,045.00p -2.18%
DCC (CDI) (DCC) 4,690.00p -0.93%
WPP (WPP) 417.20p -0.86%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,239.00p -0.84%
SEGRO (SGRO) 651.80p -0.79%
Halma (HLMA) 3,192.00p -0.75%
Entain (ENT) 937.80p -0.72%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,580.00p -0.69%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,116.00p -0.58%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,039.50p -0.57%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 296.40p 5.63%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,064.00p 3.10%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 501.00p 2.54%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 172.00p 2.50%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 370.50p 2.35%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 794.00p 2.19%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 209.00p 1.95%
Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,111.00p 1.93%
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 151.70p 1.88%
Zigup (ZIG) 343.50p 1.63%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Auction Technology Group (ATG) 474.50p -4.14%
PayPoint (PAY) 808.00p -1.94%
Alpha Group International (ALPH) 3,340.00p -1.62%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 3,015.00p -1.47%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 335.80p -1.24%
Wickes Group (WIX) 223.00p -1.11%
AO World (AO.) 97.00p -1.02%
Victrex plc (VCT) 714.00p -0.97%
AJ Bell (AJB) 517.50p -0.96%
Carnival (CCL) 1,947.00p -0.79%
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