Daily market update: Greggs, Ashtead

“Donald Trump forged a reputation for being Mr Unpredictable during his first term as US president. This time he’s on a mission to do something dramatic on a daily basis and markets continue to be taken aback by the pace and ferocity of his decisions. He is sending a clear message to the world: ‘Don’t mess with Donald’,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.

“Investors were desperately hoping that Trump would delay tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China at the eleventh hour, yet the US president has stuck to his guns and brought them into power. Naturally, the recipients have started to retaliate and that has raised the prospect of a full-blown trade war.

“Investors knew there was a real chance this would happen but quietly hoped it would all go away and simply be Trump having a bark worse than his bite. Not this time around.

“Layered on top is Trump’s decision to pause US military aid to Ukraine showing you’ve got a political leader who is determined to show the world who’s boss.

“Asian and European markets were a sea of red, although the extent of the market sell-off wasn’t as bad as it could have been under the circumstances. One third of the FTSE 100 was in positive territory, led by product certification and testing group Intertek which issued an upbeat set of results, announced a target to achieve higher margins and launched a £350 million share buyback programme.

“The DAX gave up some of its recent gains as automotive stocks slipped on the prospect of being hit by tariffs. Rheinmetall bucked the trend and continued its charge as investors embraced defence stocks, making the sector one of the hot investment areas so far this year.”

Greggs

“Greggs is suffering from a serious slowdown in growth. Miserable weather was blamed for a poor start to 2025 and a cautious consumer is not going to help its cause.

“Greggs is doing everything it can to stay on top, such as through further menu innovation. There is a danger that Greggs is moving too far away from the products that drove its success, namely sausage rolls and Belgian buns.

“Burgers, pizzas and chicken goujons make Greggs more of a direct rival to kebab shops that are ten a penny across the country. Domino’s Pizza is also pushing hard on lunchtime wraps meaning the food on the go market is becoming dangerously crowded.

“Shoppers want good value for money in the current economic climate and Greggs might find its products are pushing above the price point at which people don’t blink to buy.”

Ashtead

“If Ashtead is a barometer for the health of the US economy, its results imply that the country is coming down with a cold. Third quarter revenue and profit went into reverse as local construction markets felt the pain of interest rates staying higher for longer.

“Ashtead has historically navigated downturns by cutting back on investments in new equipment and making sure its operations are running smoothly so it can go into attack mode when market conditions recover.

“Investors are more concerned about the here and now, hence why the shares continued to fall.

“It is staring into the unknown with major uncertainties over near-term earnings. Tariffs create uncertainties over inflation, business sentiment and the economy, and that means Ashtead faces an uphill battle to reenergise earnings growth.”

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a personal recommendation or advice.