London's FTSE 100 jumps in early trading despite Trump tariff threats

Buyers returned to the London stock market today after a three day rout triggered by Donald’s Trump’s trade war threats.

In early trading the blue chip FTSE 1000 index of leading shares rose almost 100 points, or 1.24%, to 7,797.49.

London’s top flight, slumped 352.90 points or 4.38% to 7702.08 yesterday on the third day of a $10 trillion meltdown on world stock markets.

Top risers included aero engine maker Rolls-Royce, up 4.5%, and British Airways owner IAG, with a 4% boost.

Hopes that trade deals could soon be struck with individual countries, including the UK, helped improve the tone, although there are also fears that a brief lull will be followed by more juddering sell-offs.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, at investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown said: “Investors are waking up to a positive sight for once, with markets opening higher across a broad range of European indices.

“However, this should hardly be seen as the end of the trouble, especially with President Trump showing no signs of easing his stance on perceived trade imbalances, having doubled down on China.”

It followed a quieter night on Asian market despite the ever worsening trade war between the USA and China.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index bounced 1,818.60 points or 5.84% to 32,956.21, after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that “I would expect that Japan is going to get priority” in trade talks.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index spent most of the day in positive territory before dipping towards the end of the trading day to stand almost unchanged at 19,833.53. Mainland China’s CSI moved up 0.96% .

Future markets suggest that Wall Street will open higher: with the S&P 500 up 1 per cent and the Nasdaq up 0.8 per cent.

The calmer trading conditions came despite China ‘s vow to "resolutely take countermeasures" in response to Donald Trump's threat of an additional 50% tariff on Chinese imports from today.

Asian markets had plunged on Monday, with stocks in Hong Kong falling 13.2% in their worst day since the Asian financial crisis in 1997.

The calmer trading day came after a remarkably volatile session in New York with US shares yo-yoing as rumours about President Trump’s latest moves on tariffs sweeping through the markets.

By the end of the trading day S&P 500 closed just 0.23% lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 0.91% down. The tech heavy Nasdaq was up slightly.

Wall Street bosses are increasingly alarmed that trade barriers could tip the world economy into recession.

One of the world’s most powerful bankers, JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon wrote in hos annual letter to shareholders: “The quicker this issue is resolved, the better because some of the negative effects increase cumulatively over time and would be hard to reverse.”

Economists have called the disruption “the biggest disruption to the global trading system since the Bretton Woods collapse in 1971.”