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.

M&G shares jumped on Friday after the asset manager announced a strategic partnership with Dai-ichi Life, a Japanese life insurance company with 67.5 trillion yen (£345 billion) in total assets.

M&G has forged an ‘ambitious’ strategic alliance with Japan’s Dai-ichi Life Holdings that will accelerate its European private markets expansion whilst opening doors to lucrative Asian markets.

The partnership positions M&G as Dai-ichi Life HD’s preferred asset management partner in Europe and is expected to generate at least $6 billion in new business flows for the British firm over the next five years. Of this, at least $3 billion will flow into M&G’s market-leading high-alpha strategies across public and private markets.

The deal underscores M&G’s international growth strategy, providing access to Japanese and broader Asian distribution channels through one of the region’s largest insurers.

Dai-ichi Life HD manages substantial assets and the partnership will see M&G support the Japanese firm’s European investment requirements for both its own balance sheet and customer portfolios.

As part of the arrangement, Dai-ichi Life HD will acquire approximately 15% of M&G’s shares through on-market purchases, demonstrating strong confidence in the British firm’s growth prospects. The Japanese insurer will gain board representation and the companies will collaborate on product development and distribution.

Half of the projected $6 billion in new flows will come directly from Dai-ichi Life HD’s balance sheet on an evergreen basis, with the remainder generated through joint development opportunities and product distribution initiatives.

“The strategic partnership with Dai-ichi Life Holdings and the associated c.15% investment is recognition of M&G’s strengths and clear confidence in our leadership, strategy and long-term prospects,” said Andrea Rossi, Group CEO of M&G.

“It brings together two highly complementary international businesses with shared growth ambitions who aim to deliver excellent client service and sustainable shareholder returns.”

The partnership also opens potential for M&G to tap into Japan’s substantial retail market, with Dai-ichi Life HD considering distributing M&G products across Japan and Asia. Both firms will explore co-investment opportunities in new asset management capabilities aligned with their respective growth priorities.

Today’s 6% gain in M&G shares extends their year-to-date rally to 20% and takes the share price to the highest level since early 2024. And it still has a yield of 8%.

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.”