The FTSE 100 traded sideways within a relatively tight range on Thursday as investors enjoyed a break from the onslaught of volatility and uncertainty emanating from the White House.
London’s leading index was down just 7 points at the time of writing and had traded within a range barely more than 30 points for most of the session. This could, of course, change very quickly.
“UK and European markets are taking a breather this morning, with the FTSE 100 flat at the open after a strong showing yesterday. The investing world is back to hanging onto every word out of the White House, but with such a confusing and often contradictory stance on tariffs, volatility is all we can really guarantee,” said
“US markets caught a tailwind yesterday, with the S&P 500 climbing 1.67% as investors found reasons to cheer across the board – from upbeat corporate earnings and resilient economic data to signs of a cooling tone in Trump’s domestic and foreign rhetoric.”
How long the calming conditions in market persist remains to be seen, but the welcome break from Trump-induced volatility did allow investors to take a more stock-specific approach to FTSE 100 stocks on Thursday.
Unilever produced the standout corporate update with its Q1 trading statement, which confirmed that investors shouldn’t expect fireworks from the consumer giant anytime soon.
Underlying sales growth came in at 3% helped by strong performance in the Personal Care unit, and the company said it was paying attention to performance in emerging markets.
“For years, Unilever has followed the theory that slow and steady wins the race and it has once again delivered another pedestrian performance. First-quarter underlying sales growth was better than expected, giving some support to its share price, but it hardly shot the lights out,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
“The recent change in leadership for the group suggested the board and/or shareholders felt that Unilever could move faster, and chairman Ian Meakins said at the time there was more to do. It’s interesting to see new boss Fernando Fernandez now say that Unilever is ‘moving at pace’ given the Q1 numbers do not support that statement.
“Patience is required and at least the current performance shows the business is moving forwards rather than backwards.”
St James’s Place clawed its way to the top of the leaderboard as investors reacted to positive inflow data and an increase in funds under management to $188bn.
BP and Shell were higher amid rising oil prices, but failed to push the index to meaningful gains.
Endeavour Mining was back among the gainers, rising 2%, as gold resumed its march higher. Legal & General was the FTSE 100 top fallers as it traded ex-dividend.