The FTSE 100 started the Easter-shorten week on a firm footing and continued to recover tariff-induced losses with small gains led by precious metals miners and supermarkets.
With London’s markets closed for the bank holiday yesterday, UK stocks sidestepped another day of volatility in US markets after Donald Trump attacked Fed Chair Powell’s approach to interest rates. Reports suggest Trump’s advisors were exploring ways to remove Powell from his post.
It goes without saying that the added uncertainty surrounding the head of the Federal Reserve, seen as the ultimate backstop against financial market volatility, was not taken well by US stocks yesterday.
“What was supposed to be a sleepy Easter Monday turned into anything but, as US markets bled red from the opening bell – light on volume but heavy on drama. With no fresh headlines to blame, the selloff seemed more like a crisis of confidence than of catalyst, as traders wrestled with a growing list of unknowns,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.
“The tariff tug-of-war still has no end in sight, and now the Powell power struggle is adding more fuel to the fire, with whispers from the White House about his potential ousting rattling already jittery investors. At this rate, even bad news might be seen as a buying signal – if only because something, anything, from Washington might offer a sliver of direction.”
The FTSE 100 staged a rally in early morning trade before it faded to trade flat at the time of writing.
The defensive nature of London’s leading index hasn’t made it immune to global volatility, but it has led to outperformance compared to US peers.
London’s leading index is broadly flat since the start of 2025 after adding 0.1% on Tuesday. The S&P 500 is down 12% on the year.
Strong gains for precious metals miners Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo on Tuesday again demonstrated London’s weighting towards ‘safe-haven’ stocks, which have helped the index outperform.
A rally in the pair came as gold topped $3,500 for the first time in history amid heightened investor nervousness.
“The precious metal is strikingly above $3,500 per ounce for the first time and gold bugs will be eyeing the $4,000 level only a matter of weeks after the price moved through $3,000,” AJ Bell’s Russ Mould said.
Supermarkets were among the top risers as investors picked up bargains in Tesco and Sainsbury’s shares after the sector was hit by downbeat profit outlooks as a result of the price war with the discounters.
DCC shares fell after the company announced the sale of DCC Healthcare for just over £1 billion as it streamlines its business.