(Reuters) -British stocks closed higher on Thursday, after U.S. President Donald Trump dialled back duty rates on goods from many countries for 90 days, giving respite to investors following the global market rout.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 3%, posting its biggest one-day jump since March 2022.
The midcap FTSE 250 index climbed 3.5%, notching up its biggest single-day gain since July 2023.
Trump on Wednesday suspended most of the heftiest tariffs less than 24 hours after they kicked in, however, the White House said a 10% blanket duty on most U.S. imports remained in effect.
In response, the European Union on Thursday also put on hold for 90 days its first countermeasures against Trump’s levies.
However, Trump increased tariffs on Chinese imports to 125% from 104%, and Beijing’s countered with 84% levies on U.S. goods, keeping investors on edge amid fears of recession.
All FTSE 350 sub-sectors traded higher, with personal goods stocks leading the gains, up 6%.
Precious and industrial metal miners rose 5.3% and 3.7%, respectively.
Bullion rose more than 1%, extending the previous session’s sharp rise on safe-haven demand amid the U.S.-China trade war. [GOL/]
Copper and other base metals prices also rebounded sharply, along with other risk assets after most U.S. tariffs were halted. [MET/L]
Among individual stocks, Tesco fell 6.1%, after Britain’s biggest food retailer warned its profit would likely fall this year as it set aside cash to deal with a step up in the “competitive intensity” of the market.
On the data front, U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly fell 0.1% in March, but inflation risks remain high amid the U.S.-China trade war.
Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden said the impact on UK inflation from Trump’s tariffs – and the implications for interest rates – remained unclear even if Washington’s new policies were likely to lower growth.
(Reporting by Ragini Mathur and Sanchayaita Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Alison Williams)
