The FTSE 100’s winning streak looks about to end as a global stock market rally stalled on confusion over President Trump’s stance on China.
London’s leading share index slid 0.3 per cent, or 30 points, to 8,374.33 after nine days of increases and markets on the Continent were also lower.
The dollar weakened against a basket of currencies and safe-haven buying lifted the gold price 1.5 per cent to $3,338.83 an ounce.
Although the Trump administration signalled a willingness to lower tariffs against China, it ruled out unilateral moves.
Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, said on Wednesday that high tariffs between the US and China were not sustainable and signalled an openness to reducing trade tensions. His doveish comments helped to boost the value of US and European stocks and the dollar. The S&P 500 closed up 1.7 per cent on Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.1 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.5 per cent. The gold price fell.
Bessent later said, however, that there was no unilateral offer from the president to de-escalate the trade war with China. This left investors guessing about how relations between the world’s two biggest economies will progress. In London, banking, mining, financial and technology shares were lower. Gold miners bucked the trend, as did companies regarded as defensive, such as tobacco stocks.Beijing was unmoved and said the US should remove all tariffs on China. “China and the United States have not held consultations or negotiations on the tariff issue, let alone reached an agreement,” Guo Jiakun, the foreign ministry spokesman, said on Thursday. Futures contracts pointed to Wall Street opening down.If you often open multiple tabs and struggle to keep track of them, Tabs Reminder is the solution you need. Tabs Reminder lets you set reminders for tabs so you can close them and get notified about them later. Never lose track of important tabs again with Tabs Reminder!
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