The FTSE 100 reversed early losses on Thursday as traders reacted to news that Donald Trump planned to slap 25% tariffs on all EU imports and a slew of corporate updates.

European indices were heavily hit, with French CAC falling 0.4% and the Italian MIB sinking 1.3% in the first hour of trade before recovering. London’s leading index was up 0.2% at the time of writing.

Investors also assessed the impact of Nvidia’s results. The chipmaker beat estimates, but only just. The slight beat on revenue, EPS and outlook neither fired up the bulls nor gave the bears anything to chew on.

“It was another upbeat quarter from artificial intelligence (AI) chip group Nvidia, albeit at a slightly slower pace than most of the quarters in the past two years. But quarterly year-on-year revenue growth of 78% remains stunning – and guidance for the first quarter came in slightly ahead of expectations too,” said Garry White, Chief Investment Commentator at Charles Stanley. 

Investors will be pleased that Nvidia’s results have been navigated successfully, as they may have proved to be a banana skin for the AI trade.

On Thursday, Rolls-Royce was the big story in London as shares soared over 14%, following the release of a bumper set of results. The company beat expectations across the board and lifted its guidance.

“Rolls-Royce continues to soar above expectations, after delivering another set of high-flying results. The group’s turnaround has been so impressive that some of its 2027 guidance has been hit two years early, causing the group to upgrade its mid-term guidance,” said Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Revenues are being boosted by the upward trend in engine-flying hours, which are now cruising above pre-pandemic levels. But that’s just one part of the puzzle. Layoffs, contract renegotiations, process changes, and increased use of data to drive efficiencies have put Rolls on a much healthier platform. As a result, margins have moved much higher, helping to convert the increased flying hours and revenue into profits.”

Rolls-Royce has been one of the major success stories for investors since the pandemic, and today’s results suggest it isn’t about to stop delivering.

The strength of Rolls’ number was felt elsewhere in the FTSE 100, with defence stocks jumping on their coat tails.

“Strong results from Rolls-Royce helped give fellow aerospace engineer Melrose a lift, with BAE Systems also higher. London Stock Exchange Group was in demand on higher profit and a positive outlook for 2025,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

Taylor Wimpey has released its full-year results for 2024, showing a largely stable performance despite ongoing market challenges. The report contained nothing that would be a major disappointment for investors.

The UK housebuilder completed 10,593 homes, including joint ventures, slightly down from 10,848 in 2023.

However, the company saw an encouraging improvement in sales rates, with UK net private sales reaching 0.75 homes per outlet per week, up from 0.62 in the previous year. Excluding bulk deals, the net private sales rate was 0.67, compared to 0.54 in 2023.

Average selling prices showed a modest decline, with private completions averaging £356,000, down from £370,000 in 2023. The overall average selling price across all homes fell slightly to £319,000 from £324,000 the previous year.

During 2024, Taylor Wimpey operated from an average of 216 outlets across the UK, down from 238 in 2023. The company opened 55 new outlets throughout the year, an increase from 47 in 2023, ending the year with 213 active sites.

The firm maintained a strong landbank of approximately 79,000 plots, only slightly reduced from 80,000 plots at the end of 2023. Notably, the short-term owned landbank increased by around 4,000 plots to approximately 66,000 plots.

The company has proposed a final ordinary dividend of 4.66 pence per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to 9.46 pence per share, marginally down from 9.58 pence in 2023. This will be seen as a win by investors.

Customer satisfaction remains a highlight, with the company achieving a five-star rating in the Home Builders Federation survey and recording its highest-ever customer service score of 96%, up from 92% in 2023.

Taylor Wimpey was reasonably upbeat about their outlook after a strong start to the year.

“The start of the Spring selling season has been robust, and we have seen good levels of demand for our homes. Affordability – while remaining a challenge for many, especially first time buyers – is also moving in the right direction,” said Jennie Daly, Chief Executive.

“As a result, our total order book is up on last year, putting us in a strong position to grow housing volumes this year. We expect to deliver full year 2025 UK completions in the range of 10,400 to 10,800 excl. JVs and for Group performance to be in line with market expectations.”

The year-to-date net private sales rate to 23 February 2025 stands at 0.75 per outlet per week, up 12% from the equivalent period in 2024. Current pricing is described as flat year-on-year, though the company has observed some incremental improvement in market pricing since the start of the year.

Taylor Wimpey expects to remain active in the land market after approving approximately 12,000 plots in 2024, significantly up from around 3,000 plots in 2023. The company anticipates low single-digit build cost inflation for the year ahead.

The FTSE 100 showed signs of optimism on Wednesday, rising to its highest point in over a week. The vast majority of constituents traded in positive territory.

Notable risers include Lloyds, which continued its march higher to the best levels for over six years and confirmed the breakout of a trading range that had held since the beginning of the pandemic. Deutsche Bank’s price target upgrade helped propel Lloyds above 70p for the first time since 2018. Deutsche Bank has a price target of 88p for Lloyds.

ConvaTec was the top riser, jumping 6%, after the medical solutions group reported a 23% increase in operating profit for 2024.

The FTSE 100’s commodity-related components helped lift the index on Wednesday, with the miners ticking higher on reports of Trump tariffs targeting copper. 

“Copper prices have shot up, as the metal is caught in the President’s sights,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Mining stocks have helped drive the FTSE 100 higher in early trade after copper futures jumped around 4%, sparked by the President ordering an investigation into extra duties on imports.

“The plan would be to spark higher US production and put a dent in China’s huge share of the global market. Copper is sought after as a key component in renewable energy systems, for wind, solar power and electric vehicles for example, and prices have been steadily rising this year, after dipping back at the end of 2024.”

Copper pure play Antofagasta rose 2.8%, while Glencore added 2%.

Nvidia

Today’s major event will be release of Nvidia’s earnings after the bell in the US tonight. The company is led the AI rally and demand for its chips is probably the single largest barometer of momentum in the sector. 

“The big news awaiting the markets later today is the quarterly earnings report from Nvidia. Such is its weighting and its importance to the all-pervasive AI theme, the results could have a significant impact on market sentiment,” explained AJ Bell’s Russ Mould.

Although the FTSE 100 doesn’t include any stocks directly associated with AI, sentiment will be impacted by Nvidia’s results and could set the tone for trade during the rest of the week.

Nvidia’s earnings have become the most important event on the US corporate calendar. Its central role in the public market AI trade has meant it’s now the most important barometer of the driving force behind bumper returns for the S&P 500 over the past two years.

Tonight, investors will learn how the chip maker performed during the last quarter with massive potential implications for the stock and the wider market.

Expectations are again high when compared to a year ago, but the pace of growth is slowing. Analysts have pencilled in Nvidia to record $38.5bn in the fourth quarter and EPS of $0.84

Perhaps the most important element of Nvidia’s earnings will be their forecasts. The analyst consensus for first-quarter revenue guidance is $42.5bn.

Major tech companies, including Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft, have all signalled that they will hike AI spending in the coming periods. Investors will want to see what visibility Nvidia has over capturing some of this spending.

Investors will watch keenly for any commentary around the takeup of new products, including the Blackwell superchips.

Nvidia’s earnings will be dropped against the backdrop of a new threat from China and Deepseek that could dampen demand for Nvidia’s chips, should they be able to produce the same results for users by using less energy and resources.

“Given the emergence of Deepseek in recent weeks, and the potential that AI models can be built using older, fewer, and cheaper NVDA chips than had previously been thought, risks around the AI theme more broadly have become increasingly two-sided,” said Michael Brown Senior Research Strategist at Pepperstone.

“As such, participants seem likely to severely punish any earnings, or guidance, misses, with options tied to the stock pricing a move of +/- 8.5% in the 24 hours following the release.”

Nvidia results once produced spectacular stock movements. This has calmed in recent releases, but it doesn’t mean numbers that deviate materially from expectations spark a sharp reaction this time around. 

Brickability, a leading distributor and specialist products provider to the UK construction industry, reported substantial organic growth across all divisions for the 10-month period ending 31 January 2025 despite ‘challenging’ market conditions.

The AIM-listed firm announced a 12.3% like-for-like revenue increase in the four months to 31 January 2025 compared to the same period last year, with all four of the Group’s divisions contributing to this growth.

The company’s strategy of diversifying revenue streams has paid off, enabling the business to deliver solid performance during a difficult and uncertain period for the construction sector.

Particularly strong performers were the Bricks and Building Materials division and the Importing division, both of which recorded robust revenue growth compared not only with the prior period but also with the first half of the current financial year. However, the company noted that pricing has become increasingly competitive due to softer demand in the wider market.

Meanwhile, the Distribution division continues to benefit from strong interest in solar PV products through the Group’s renewables business, Upowa. The regulatory focus on building safety has also created a supportive environment for the Contracting division, which is benefiting from a multi-year pipeline and substantial order book within its specialist cladding and fire remediation businesses. This has contributed to divisional margins significantly ahead of the Group’s blended average.

Investors will be delighted to learn that the board now anticipates delivering adjusted EBITDA modestly ahead of market expectations for the year ending 31 March 2025.

“I am pleased by the way in which Brickability is performing and it is testament to our specialist, multi-channel Group structure and the  hard work of the Group’s teams across the four divisions that we are able to deliver growth through a tough cycle,” said Frank Hanna, Chief Executive Office.

“At the same time, we are investing in our IT systems and the standardisation of processes to improve operating efficiencies and data analytics to better serve our customers.”