The FTSE 100 fell on Thursday despite a major US court ruling on Trump’s tariffs and strong results from Nvidia sparking a rally in US stocks.

London’s leading index was trading down 0.1% at the time of writing as ex-dividends and disappointing results from Auto Trader weighed.

In contrast, S&P 500 futures surged 1.5% higher on hopes the worst of the negative impact of Trump’s tariffs could be averted, or at the very least, delayed. In a blow for Donald Trump and boon for stocks, a US court ruled that the President acted beyond his powers and block his ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs.

“The US Court of International Trade has generated some hope in the market that the tariff threat might be wiped away with its latest ruling,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“For the court to determine that President Trump didn’t have the authority to impose the ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs is a pretty seismic development.

“That the gains were measured rather than blockbuster reflects a healthy level of scepticism over whether this can truly rein in the Trump administration, which has already launched an appeal against the judgement.”

One would also think the gains in US shares would have had a bigger reaction to the news if Trump had not already rolled back or delayed tariffs on several key trading partners. The S&P 500 has already rallied just shy of 20% since post-tariff lows and is on the verge of a technical bull market.

There has been a similar recovery in the FTSE 100 and the extent of the gains since Trump’s tariff announcment can be attributed to the muted reaction in London’s leading index on Thursday.

Several big hitters, including Severn Trent and National Grid, trading ex-dividend contributed to the weakness on an index level.

Auto Trader was the top faller after the UK’s largest automotive platform announced increased revenues, but warned the strength of the UK second hand car market was reducing demand for their advertising products.

“You would think a buoyant market for used cars would be great news for a platform like Auto Trader but actually if anything it’s been too easy to sell second-hand vehicles of late,” Russ Mould explained.

“Thanks to limited supply and exceptionally strong demand, car tyres are barely touching the forecourt before they are snapped up and this means there is less need for retailers to buy advertising slots from Auto Trader. 

“These market dynamics have also made it harder to upsell clients to more expensive packages. This has caused growth to stall and seen the shares go firmly into reverse on the publication of full-year results.”

Auto Trader shares were down 11.5% at the time of writing.

There were surprisingly few FTSE 100 gainers rising more than 1%, given the news breaking from the US. easyjet was the top riser, adding 2.3%.

Generative AI analytics firm GenIP has continued its global expansion with a fresh partnership with a Brazilian government agency to support innovation in the clean energy space.

The AIM-listed firm has secured an agreement to provide its artificial intelligence-enhanced assessment services to a prominent government research funding body.

The partnership will support a state-backed bioenergy programme aimed at advancing sustainable energy innovation across the country. GenIP’s AI-driven analysis will guide critical decisions regarding the commercial viability of cutting-edge bioenergy technologies.

The Brazilian engagement represents GenIP’s deal in the country, positioning the company to capitalise on the growing demand for technology evaluation services across Latin American markets.

The government agency, which ranks amongst Brazil’s principal funders of scientific and technological research, selected GenIP’s platform to help identify the most promising innovations for potential commercialisation.

GenIP also unveiled its attendance at leading technology transfer and innovation events in the UK and US to support its marketing initiatives.

Today’s announcement builds on recent developments demonstrating GenIP’s global ambitions. In March, GenIP announced a $0.35m contract win with a Saudi Arabian institution, which was closely followed by another contract with a Singapore-based research institute.

“We’re excited to announce GenIP’s expansion into Brazil. This new partnership with a Brazilian government agency reflects the success of our Latin American outreach and highlights the significant opportunity in the region,” said Melissa Cruz, CEO of GenIP.

“Demonstrating GenIP’s ambition to become the global leader in AI-powered technology commercialisation services, our participation in leading tech transfer events this June will allow us to deepen relationships and engage new clients in both the UK and the United States.”

Filtronic plc has secured an £800,000 contract to supply high-performance modules for Leonardo’s airborne radar systems.

The AIM-listed company, which designs and manufactures products for aerospace, defence, space and telecoms markets, will provide critical components for Leonardo’s Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar technology.

The modules will be manufactured at Filtronic’s automated hybrid microelectronics facility in Sedgefield, County Durham, with delivery expected in the second half of the next financial year.

The contract expands Filtronic’s existing product range supplied to Leonardo, its lead defence customer.

“We are pleased to be able to extend our relationship with such a valued customer which reflects their continued confidence in our ability to deliver this new and challenging programme. Defence is a critical market for the execution of our growth plans and this ongoing long-term relationship with Leonardo is testament to Filtronic’s strong track record of collaboration and successful project delivery with a respected defence prime,” Nat Edington, Chief Executive Officer.

Today’s contract win follows a series of wins from SpaceX and a new deal with Airbus.

With Filtronic shares trading near all time highs, there was little market reaction on Thursday.

Nvidia shares surged higher in the US pre-market on Thursday as the strength of the chip maker’s Q1 results reassured investors that the king of AI wouldn’t be dethroned anytime soon.

Demonstrating that momentum in AI was still firmly intact, Nvidia recorded 69% revenue growth in Q1 2025 compared to a year ago. Revenue was 12% higher in Q1 than in Q4 2024. Data centre revenue was 73% higher than a year ago at $39.1bn.

Nvidia shares were over 4% higher in the pre-market as investors reacted to the release.

The gains came despite Nvidia shedding further light on the impact of curbs on their exports to China, which resulted in a $4.5bn charge in the first quarter.

The market also took the revision of Nvidia Q2 revenue outlook in its stride. The group now sees revenue at $45bn in Q2, despite wiping off $8bn in revenue due to export controls. Revenue of $45bn still represents quarter-on-quarter growth.

“In a quarter of uncertainty, Nvidia has reminded markets why it is the cornerstone of the AI revolution with another solid result and upbeat forecast,” said Josh Gilbert, market analyst at eToro.

“Investors came into this quarter looking for signs that Nvidia could alleviate short-term concerns. What they got was a clear message that demand remains robust, Blackwell is ramping up fast and these results will restore investor confidence. Despite the China drag, Nvidia’s top-line strength speaks for itself with USD$44 billion in Q1 sales and another USD$45 billion expected next quarter tells us they’re making up for the China loss elsewhere.”

Perhaps there is a school of thought the curbs on exports won’t last long, or investors are confident that global demand for Nvidia’s chip will make up for lost opportunity in China. Nonetheless, Nvidia investors and the wider market will be more than happy with the share price reaction. 

From an operation highlights perspective, Nvidia is developing the Stargate infrastructure cluster in Abu Dhabi alongside partners OpenAI and Oracle.

The group is also planning to build factories in the USA under mounting pressure from Donald Trump. New product launches include the DGX SuperPod, which is designed to power agentic AI reasoning.  

The FTSE 100 was trading in a holding pattern on Wednesday after a strong rally in US stocks overnight as markets paused for breath and investors geared up for the release of Nvidia results after the US bell later tonight.

London’s leading index was trading flat at the time of writing after trading in a tight range for most of the session.

Nvidia’s results have become a major event in traders’ calendars due to their importance to the AI trade that has propelled US equity market higher over the past two years. A significant beat or miss of Nvidia earnings expectations has the power to drive global equity trade, and investors are becoming increasingly wary going into the release.

“The FTSE 100 ticked higher after an increase in US consumer confidence and a delay on the punishing EU tariffs announced by the Trump administration helped US stocks to surge overnight,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“However, with US futures pointing to some retrenchment when Wall Street resumes trading later, it’s clear there is still some latent nervousness in the market.

“Quite a lot may ride on Nvidia’s results later, with investors likely to be watching the numbers and particularly the outlook closely to see what impact, if any, tariff uncertainty is having on the business.”

In the UK, there was a nearly 50:50 split between FTSE 100 gainers and losers at the time of writing, with little in the way of major movers.

Kingfisher was the top corporate story. Shares fell 2.3% after the DIY group released Q1 results that confirmed the positive impact of favourable UK weather conditions, but poor performance in France gave investors a reason to be cautious.

“There were some rays of sunshine in the first quarter for B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher, with sales rising 1.8% across the group but there’s still concern about the longer-term picture,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“The update indicates there was strong demand for seasonal products in the UK and Ireland, even before the May heatwave took hold. This has helped boost revenues by 5.9%, sharply higher than forecasts.”

Endeavour Mining is regularly in the FTSE 100’s top losers or gainers as traders use the stock as a risk sentiment proxy. The potenital risk presented by Nvidia’s results and the general risk-off positioning sent the gold miner to the top of the leaderboard with a 1% gain.

It’s sometimes better to travel to arrive when investing in equities, and that has proved to be the case for Kingfisher shares after a strong start to the year.

Kingfisher shares had rallied going into the release of today’s Q1 trading update after peers reported strong results amid better weather conditions in the UK. Kingfisher produced similarly strong results with UK & Ireland reported sales rising 6.1%, helping to offset a 4.9% decline in France.

“Although the deteriorating performance in France wasn’t quite as bad as expected, revenues from its operations in Poland were much weaker than forecast, with both markets showing sales decline of 3.2%,” explained Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown

Kingfisher group Q1 sales came in at £3.3 billion, rising 2.2% at constant currency, despite a negative 0.9% calendar impact. This represented underlying total sales growth of 3.1%. Like-for-like sales increased 1.8%, with underlying growth of 2.7%.

Volume and transaction growth were driven by seasonal categories, which had a positive mix impact on average selling prices. Retail price inflation remained flat during the period.

“It seems Britons’ first impulse on seeing the sun is to start doing some DIY, if Kingfisher’s results are any indication,” said Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG.

“A set of poor numbers in France was offset by UK consumers spending their unexpected early summer in Kingfisher’s stores, helping to lift like-for-like sales by 1.8%. Up 16% so far this year, the shares have been a haven from tariff volatility, though the update didn’t offer much to extend the rally in the short term.”

As alluded to by Beauchamp, Kingfisher shares dropped over 2% as the group reaffirmed guidance and offered investors little to be excited about other than better weather in the UK.