The FTSE 100 was firmly higher on Friday as investors shrugged off the latest twist in the trade tariff saga and focused on positive stories closer to home.
London’s leading index rose 0.8% on Friday despite a US appeals court blocking a decision to suspend Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs – a move that weighed on US indices overnight.
“When it comes to global trade right now the only certainty is uncertainty. Just a day after US courts halted the lion’s share of Trump’s recent tariff increases, judges have temporarily reinstated the new border taxes,” explained Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown.
The FTSE 100 has diverged from US indices on a number of occasions this week, with London missing out on a Nvidia-inspired rally but showing greater resilience in the face of the latest development in Donald Trump’s trade war.
“A rally on Wall Street ran out of steam overnight and futures markets are pointing to declines later for the main indices. The FTSE 100 managed gains on Friday morning despite the miners trading lower amid the continuing economic turmoil,” according to AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“The usually staid insurance sector burst into life as M&G’s strategic partnership with Japan’s Dai-ichi Life generated excitement. The deal is expected to generate significant business for the company over the next five years.”
M&G was by far the FTSE 100’s best performer on the session following news of their new strategic partnership with gains of over 6%.
“It brings together two highly complementary international businesses with shared growth ambitions who aim to deliver excellent client service and sustainable shareholder returns,” said Andrea Rossi, Group CEO of M&G.
“It will enable us to further capitalise on the significant private market opportunities across Europe and enable even greater access to the Japanese and Asian market where we will benefit from Dai-ichi Life Holdings market-leading expertise.”
Additional support for the FTSE 100 came from other financials that jumped on M&G’s coattails. Beazley, Hiscox and Schroders were all higher by more than 1% at the time of writing.
IAG was the top faller, giving up around 1%, on nothing more than light profit taking.