Stocks in London were higher at midday on Friday on the back of news of a US-UK trade deal and amid hopes of a thawing of US-China trade tensions ahead of talks over the weekend.
The FTSE 100 index was up 43.48 points, 0.5%, at 8,575.09. The FTSE 250 was up 63.10 points, 0.3%, at 20,520.25, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.80 points, 0.3%, at 722.22.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.5% at 854.62, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 17,953.01, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.8% at 15,532.10.
A ‘historic’ UK-US trade deal will save thousands of jobs in the car and steel industries which have been threatened by Donald Trump’s tariffs, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
The trade agreement was confirmed in a call between the PM and the US president which was broadcast live on both sides of the Atlantic.
US import taxes which had threatened to cripple British high-end carmakers were cut from 27.5% to 10%, while the 25% tariff on steel has also been removed entirely.
The blanket 10% tariff imposed on imports by Trump as part of his sweeping ‘liberation day’ announcement remains in place, but talks are ongoing in a UK effort to ease them.
In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.8%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt edged up 0.7%.
RiverFort Global Opportunities was up 70% around midday in London.
The investment trust after market close on Thursday said it has entered into a sale and purchase agreement for the reverse takeover of food technology and wellness investor S-Ventures.
RiverFort will acquire substantially all of S-Ventures’ operating subsidiaries, with the enlarged company post-completion to trade under the new name Tooru. S-Ventures will receive 466.7 new shares in RiverFort, which is equivalent to around £3.5 million at a 0.75 pence share price.
RiverFort also proposed a placing for up to £1.0 million at 0.75p per share, with firm commitments of £500,000 already received as of Thursday afternoon.
Shares in S-Ventures have been suspended since July 2024 after the firm failed to publish its half-year results before the deadline.
Tiger Royalties & Investments rose 5.0%.
The technology investment firm signed a deal to invest £250,000 in Tao Strategies Singapore, an operator of miner and validator nodes on the Bittensor blockchain network.
Tiger believes the move will position it ‘at the forefront of the democratisation of intelligence, redefining how intelligence is created and exchanged’, as well as capturing long-term value.
At the other end, Belluscura was down 22%.
The medical device company announced it would initiate a strategic review to mull options to ‘strengthen its capital position’. Potential options include a strategic investment, partnerships, or alternative funding structures, Belluscura said.
‘The review is aimed at supporting both the company’s short-term cash requirements and its longer-term growth and accelerating its path to sustainable profitability. There can be no certainty that the strategic review will result in any specific outcomes, and the company will provide further updates as appropriate. For the avoidance of doubt, the strategic review is not for the purposes of soliciting offers for the company pursuant to the City Code on Takeovers & Mergers,’ the firm explained.
The pound was quoted lower at $1.3273 at midday on Friday in London, compared to $1.3295 at the equities close on Thursday. The euro also stood lower, at $1.1250, against $1.1265.
Against the yen, the dollar was trading up at JP¥145.22 compared to JP¥145.15.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for the lifting of all tariffs between the US and the EU in his first telephone call with US President Donald Trump.
‘I told him that I don’t think it’s a good idea to escalate this customs dispute,’ Merz said in Brussels on Friday, speaking alongside European Council President Antonio Costa. ‘The best solution would be down to zero for everything and for everyone.’
He said Trump invited him to Washington during the phone call on Thursday, with the German leader also inviting the president to Berlin.
The comments came as the EU seeks to settle an ongoing trade dispute with the US administration under Trump, which has imposed a blanket 10% duty on all imports and threatened further measures.
Meanwhile, the governor of the Bank of England has said he hopes the UK can ‘rebuild’ trade relationships with the EU after striking a trade deal with the US.
Andrew Bailey said it would be ‘beneficial’ to reverse the post-Brexit reduction in UK-EU trade.
In an interview with the BBC, the bank’s chief suggested that the UK-US trade deal secured on Thursday could set an example to nations around the world.
He said: ‘It is important we do everything we can to ensure that whatever decisions are taken on the Brexit front do not damage the long-term trade position.’
Stocks in New York were called higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called up 0.1%, the S&P 500 index 0.2% higher, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.3%.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are set to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Switzerland on Saturday and Sunday, marking the first talks between the superpowers since Trump unveiled his tariffs.
US President Donald Trump told reporters that he thought the negotiations would be ‘substantive’ and when asked if reducing the levies was a possibility, he said ‘it could be’.
Brent oil was quoted higher at $64.01 a barrel at midday in London on Friday up from $62.75 late Thursday.
Gold was quoted lower at $3,324.93 an ounce against $3,340.18.
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