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Late market roundup: FTSE ends higher as tariff countdown begins

London stocks closed higher on Tuesday, showing resilience amid soft US economic data and looming US tariff plans, while Alphawave shares soared after Qualcomm confirmed takeover interest.

The FTSE 100 index ended up 51.99 points, 0.6%, at 8,634.80. It had earlier traded as high as 8,671.91.

The FTSE 250 climbed 115.38 points, 0.6%, at 19,590.86, and the AIM All-Share advanced 6.39 points, 0.9%, at 688.38.

The Cboe UK 100 rose 0.6% at 860.88 on Tuesday, the Cboe UK 250 firmed 0.7% at 17,075.49, and the Cboe Small Companies ended 0.4% higher at 15,216.50.

In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended up 1.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt jumped 1.7%.

In New York, stocks reversed early falls to trade in the green. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1%, the S&P 500 was 0.3% higher and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.7%.

On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed President Donald Trump will announce his reciprocal tariff push on Wednesday.

Leavitt said the announcement would feature ‘country-based’ tariffs. She said the president is also ‘committed to implementing’ sectoral duties, but that they were not the focus of the April 2 event.

‘The president will be announcing a tariff plan that will roll back the unfair trade practices that have been ripping off our country for decades,’ Leavitt told reporters at the White House.

Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management said while tariff rhetoric has reached ‘full crescendo’ it is ‘maddeningly vague in detail’.

‘Markets are flush with speculation, but real pricing clarity is [missing in action], and the uncertainty premium is sky-high,’ he added.

Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the BBC that ‘it might not be possible for any country in the world to be exempt from the initial announcements [on tariffs],’ but added that Britain would continue to pursue a trade deal with the US.

‘It‘s a very serious and significant moment. That’s why we have been so resolute in pursuing our national interest and putting the UK in the best place of any country to navigate some of these pressures,’ he added.

Data on Wednesday showed the US manufacturing sector remained weak, and a softer jobs market.

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global US manufacturing purchasing managers’ index recorded 50.2 points for March, down from 52.7.

March also saw the lowest new order book growth of the year so far. Survey respondents ‘frequently reported’ market uncertainty linked to concerns regarding the implementation of tariffs.

Separate figures from the Institute for Supply Management showed the manufacturing sector contracted in March after two consecutive months of expansion.

The ISM manufacturing PMI registered 49.0 in March, 1.3 points lower compared with 50.3 in February.

The New Orders Index contracted to 45.2 points from 48.6 while the Prices Index surged to 69.4 from 62.4. The Employment Index registered 44.7 down from February‘s figure of 47.6.

Capital Economics said: ‘The slight dip in the ISM manufacturing index in March suggests that, rather than triggering a reshoring factory renaissance, the uncertainty surrounding President Trump’s tariff threats are depressing activity.’

Economists at Wells Fargo said that a ‘front-running’ of tariffs and ‘shift to minimize import exposure’ is driving up prices, while ‘persistent uncertainty is crimping underlying demand and leaves manufacturers longing for clarity.’

Meanwhile, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the number of job openings fell more than expected last month.

In February, the number of job openings decreased to 7.57 million in February from 7.76 million in January, and below the 7.66 million expected by analysts.

The report comes ahead of Friday’s nonfarm payrolls data.

The dollar fell back after the data and ahead of the tariffs. Against the yen, the dollar was trading lower at JP¥149.33 compared to JP¥149.85.

The pound was quoted at $1.2920 on Tuesday in London, up from $1.2904 at the equities close on Monday. The euro stood at $1.0826, higher against $1.0801.

According to a Eurostat flash estimate, the rate of yearly consumer price inflation eased to 2.2% in March, from 2.3% in February.

The figure landed in line with consensus cited by FXStreet.

Annual service price inflation cooled to 3.4% in March from 3.7% in February, Eurostat said, though it remained one of the loftiest rates among consumer price index components last month.

Consumer prices rose 0.6% in March from February. The pace of growth accelerated from 0.4% in February from January.

ING noted while inflationary risks ‘remain prominent for the moment, recent months have shown quite benign developments in core inflation.’

The broker explained US tariffs could result in deflationary pressures as they depress exports and therefore growth while retaliatory measures would likely have an upward effect on inflation.

The tariffs and any retaliatory measures will be ‘key in determining where rates are headed’, ING said.

‘All things being equal, today‘s inflation print was soft enough to justify another rate cut to get the policy rate more firmly in neutral territory,’ it added.

In the UK, Figures from S&P Global showed manufacturing activity in the UK continued to decline in March, albeit at a slightly lower pace than anticipated.

The S&P Global UK manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to a 17-month low of 44.9 points in March from 46.9 in February. It however beat the flash estimate of 44.6.

On the FTSE 100, food retailers J Sainsbury and Tesco fell 2.4% and 1.1% respectively as figures from Kantar showed food price inflation picked up to 3.5% in the four weeks to March 23 compared to 3.2% in the four weeks to February 23.

On the FTSE 250, Greencore climbed 5.6% after the sandwich maker released an upbeat trading statement.

The Dublin-based manufacturer of convenience foods said it expects full-year profit will be ahead of current market expectations after strong trading in the second quarter.

Greencore anticipates adjusted operating profit for the full year ending September 26 will be in the range of £112 million to £115 million. RBC Capital Markets noted the prior range was £102.6 million to £107 million with a consensus average of around £105 million.

But Travis Perkins slumped 8.4% after it reported a loss for 2024 and warned profit in the year ahead would be lower than expected amid ‘challenging’ trading conditions.

The Northampton-based building materials company reported a pretax loss of £38.4 million for 2024 compared with a profit of £121.4 million for 2023.

Group revenue fell 4.7% to £4.61 billion from £4.84 billion a year prior, driven by price deflation, continued decline in market volumes, and underperformance in the Merchanting segment.

Analysts at Davy Research said: ‘As was the case in 2023, Travis Perkins will be glad to close the book on a very challenging year. That the group needs a reset and a fundamental change of direction has been acknowledged, but change of this scale takes time. The road ahead is long and, as recent events underline, will almost certainly be bumpy.’

Shares in Alphawave IP surged after US semiconductor company Qualcomm said it is mulling acquiring the London-listed firm.

Shares in high-speed connectivity solutions Alphawave jumped 43% giving it a market capitalisation of £1.03 billion.

Qualcomm has until the close of play on April 29 to announce whether it plans to make a firm offer for Alphawave.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that Arm Holdings recently looked into buying Alphawave. Reuters, citing three sources with knowledge of the matter, said Alphawave has been working with investment bankers to explore a sale after it received interest from Arm and ‘other potential acquirers’

Gold’s safe haven qualities remained in demand, trading at $3,126.52 an ounce against $3,116.44 on Monday.

Brent oil was quoted higher at $74.74 a barrel late on Tuesday afternoon in London from $74.42 at the time of the London equities close on Monday.

Wednesday’s economic calendar has the US ADP private payroll report and factory orders data.

Wednesday’s local corporate calendar has a trading statement from electricity generator SSE.

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