The FTSE 100 was lower on Tuesday as tariff concerns rumbled on after US Treasury Secretary Bessent said China ‘wants to drag everybody else down’, suggesting the relationship wasn’t as rosy as Trump’s social media posts over the weekend would lead us to believe.

London’s leading index was 0.3% lower at the time of writing.

“UK stocks opened lower this morning, tracking declines across Europe as trade tensions creep back into focus,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown

“After a stretch of relative calm, headline risk is making conditions jumpy again and markets are back in the web of reacting to social media posts. But with earnings season kicking off, both at home and across the pond, there are more traditional catalysts on the horizon.”

US earnings season kicks off today with banks releasing earnings, providing investors with insight into how companies are faring in the current climate.

Earnings from the first firms to report were encouraging. Goldman Sachs fell in the US premarket despite earnings coming in ahead of estimates, while JP Morgan was flat as profits rose on higher trading activity. Citigroup also beat estimates and rose in the premarket.

BP was the headline FTSE 100 earnings story on Tuesday, with shares falling 2.4% after the group revealed slow oil trading activity.

“BP’s trading arm has become a thorn in its side. Having warned in April of weak gas trading, the same problem has now been reported with its oil trading arm,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“The company might argue that fluctuations with the trading business are par the course, and that its key focus is production. Yet the trading arm is far from insignificant as it can provide a nice sweetener to group earnings.

“Volatile energy prices are generally good for trading, and we’ve certainly seen fluctuations in oil and gas prices over the past year. Questions will now be asked of BP as to why the trading arm isn’t riding high.”

Easyjet was the top riser amid reports shipping firm MSC was eyeing the airline for either a full takeover or significant investment.

Miners were the biggest drag on the FTSE 100 with Anglo American, and Antofagasta and Glencore among the top fallers.

Bellway has delivered surprisingly strong full-year results for the period ending 31 July 2025, with total housing completions rising 14.3% to 8,749 homes at an average selling price of £316,412.

The company’s underlying operating profit increased 27.5% to £303.5m, achieving an operating margin of 10.9%, up from 10.0% in the prior year.

Underlying profit before taxation grew 27.9% to £289.1m.

Bellway shares rose by more than 5% after the housebuilder released results that will please investors concerned about the state of the UK property market. They are also materially better than some of their peers have released recently.

Encouragingly, private reservation rates improved to 0.57 per outlet per week, representing an 11.8% increase year-on-year, though momentum softened in the final quarter following solid spring demand.

The company’s sales performance showed marked improvement in the second half, with the private reservation rate reaching 0.62 compared to 0.51 in the first half.

Setting the group up for the eventual pick up in the housing market, Bellway maintained a decent land bank totaling 95,704 plots at year-end, marginally up from 95,292 plots in 2024.

Perhaps the biggest positive for investors is Bellway’s decision to reward shareholders with a share buyback.

“Bellway’s new capital allocation policy had been well flagged by management, but investors are warming to it all the same, as the housebuilder both increases its annual dividend and launches a £150 million share buyback scheme for the coming year,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. 

“A strong balance sheet supports this largesse, whereby the buyback and forecast dividends for the year to July 2026 equate to nearly 8% of the company’s stock market capitalisation, and increased profits would help, too.”

Analysts see the share buyback as a potential foundation for the share price to recover, despite the company, like all housebuilders, noting stuttering activity in recent months.

“While Bellway has seen a slow start to the year, its share buyback and improved cashflow point towards underlying strength in the business and a confidence in the months to come. The shares managed to find a short-term low in September, and these results seem to provide the groundwork for a further recovery in the price.” 

THG has delivered its strongest quarterly sales performance since 2021, with third-quarter revenue rising 6.3% as both its beauty and nutrition divisions returned to growth.

Shares in the group rose by more than 5% in early trading on Tuesday as investors cheered signs of a revival.

When THG released interim results in September, CEO Matthew Moulding said he was “really pleased at how THG has gained momentum throughout the first half and into Q3”. And this momentum was confirmed today.

The Manchester-based company reported Q3 2025 revenue of £405.2 million, marking a welcome turnaround that brought the group back into positive year-to-date territory.

THG Nutrition was the standout performer, posting 10.0% year-on-year growth to reach £147.0 million in Q3 – its highest growth rate in over two years. The division has been buoyed by selective pricing strategies and rapid expansion in social commerce and marketplace channels, which surged more than 91% year-on-year.

Customer loyalty improved, with subscriptions jumping 50% compared to the first half of 2025. The Myprotein brand continued its global retail expansion, launching across 2,500 CVS stores in the US and securing partnerships, including a strategic tie-up with Everlast Gyms to open approximately 60 in-gym Myprotein Kitchens across the UK and Ireland.

THG Beauty recorded 4.2% growth in Q3 to £258.2 million – its strongest performance since early 2024. The division is on track for record advent calendar sales this year, whilst UK retail showed particular strength with Lookfantastic achieving double-digit revenue growth. Advent calendar sales have traditionally been one of the biggest drivers of growth.

US retail performance is improving, driven by luxury skincare and devices, with subscription revenue up 22% year-on-year, supporting enhanced customer lifetime value.

The board maintained its full-year guidance, with Q3’s 6.3% growth positioning the group favourably against its H2 targets of 3.9% to 5.9%. THG noted it is entering its most profitable and cash-generative period.

“I am pleased to report a solid Q3 performance, with a return to growth across both THG Beauty and THG Nutrition,” said Matthew Moulding, CEO of THG.

“In THG Beauty, our focus on commercial discipline and elevating the brand proposition has driven a return to revenue growth, supported by a strong advent launch.

“Within THG Nutrition, we remain on track with our focus on expanding Myprotein’s D2C market share, alongside accelerating our global offline presence through retail and brand partnerships. A number of exciting new partnerships are set to be announced soon, helping us to further build on this year’s positive momentum.

“Our progress is a direct result of the strategic initiatives and operational change we have implemented, and we are well positioned for the key trading period ahead.”

Empire Metals Limited has confirmed a massive titanium deposit at its Pitfield Project in Western Australia, potentially delivering a game-changing discovery for the global titanium market.

The AIM-quoted exploration company has just released a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate that confirms Pitfield as one of the largest and highest-grade titanium resources ever reported globally.

The project is estimated to hold 2.2 billion tonnes grading 5.1% TiO2, containing a massive 113 million tonnes of titanium dioxide.

Empire Metals shares jumped over 17% on the news on Tuesday.

What makes this discovery particularly impressive is its sheer scale and quality. The resource spans across two main deposits—Thomas and Cosgrove—covering 39 square kilometres and 20 square kilometres, respectively.

Yet these represent less than 20% of the known mineralised surface area, suggesting enormous potential for future expansion.

The weathered zone alone contains 1.26 billion tonnes grading 5.2% TiO2, translating to 65.6 million tonnes of contained titanium dioxide. This naturally weathered material sits at surface level, eliminating the need for complex mining operations.

Pitfield’s location provides significant logistical advantages. The project benefits from existing rail links to deep-water ports, offering direct shipping access to major markets including Asia, the USA, Europe, and Saudi Arabia.

Investors will be delighted with the latest update, which further confirms the strength of the firm’s asset base.

Empire has already demonstrated the commercial viability of its discovery, with conventional processing successfully producing high-purity titanium dioxide grading 99.25% with negligible impurities. This quality level makes it suitable for both titanium sponge metal production and high-grade pigment applications.

“Pitfield is truly one of the natural geological wonders of the world: a district scale, giant titanium rich ore deposit which has remained hidden in plain sight until recently discovered by Empire,” said Shaun Bunn, Managing Director of Empire.

“Credit goes to our talented exploration and technical team who have delivered one of the world’s largest titanium MRE, a metallurgical flowsheet and a saleable product, all within a remarkable short period of 30 months from our first drill hole.

“The incredible success achieved to date has only spurred our team’s endeavours to untap the true potential of this phenomenal project and we remain focused on completing our processing optimisation testwork and moving rapidly into continuous piloting early next year. We have already commenced engineering, environmental and marketing studies which combined, will help confirm the commercial viability of Pitfield and form the basis for a Final Investment Decision.”

Empire Metals shares are over 800% higher so far in 2025.

The FTSE 100 joined the global equity market rally in very early trade on Monday, but the gains faded as investors looked to the start of earnings season and the return of trade-tariff concerns.

London’s leading index was fighting to keep its head above water at the time of writing as early gains evaporated.

Investors cheered a social media post by Trump over the weekend that suggested threats of 100% tariffs on China were just another negotiating tactic. However, concerns set back in as the session progressed and traders banked short-term gains.

“Just as it looked as if the US and China were making baby steps to repair their relationship, Donald Trump throws a spanner in the works,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“A new threat of high tariffs on Chinese goods coming into the US spooked investors in the East, with Asian markets showing a sea of red, following a similarly bad session for Wall Street last Friday.”

Although the FTSE 100 struggled to stay positive on the session, there were bumper gains for precious metals miner Fresnillo and Endeavour as gold and silver hit all-time highs.

“This new-found nervousness pushed investors back into gold, putting the shine back on the precious metal and reigniting the rally in gold miners,” Mould said.

“Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining topped the FTSE 100’s list of risers, representing a rapid U-turn from last week’s bout of profit taking.”

Fresnillion soared 7% as Endeavour rose 6%.

The S&P 500 cash market was set to open over 1% as the TACO trade looked to play out once more with traders betting 100% tariffs on China will never materialise.

Analysts noted that while attention was on Trump’s tariffs on Monday, the imminent catalyst of earnings season is likely to set the market narrative this week.

“With volatility back in the market, the initial flurry of third quarter earnings will be watched more closely than ever,” said Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“First up, it’s the US banks, with Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JP morgan and Wells Fargo all reporting tomorrow. A resilient economy and surge in investment banking activities bodes well, but valuations are riding high. Given the nervy backdrop, markets are likely to be sensitive to surprises in either direction.”

In London, UK banks were headline news again on Monday as Lloyds confirmed it would set aside another £800m to address the motor finance scandal. Lloyds shares rose 1% suggesting this was a win in investors’ eyes.

“A rising share price represents two things: one, some clarity on Lloyds’ potential exposure; and two, hope that Lloyds might successfully get the regulator to tweak its proposal in its favour,” Russ Mould said.

Babcock was the top faller with a 2% loss as the geopolitical outlook improved significantly with the return of hostages from Gaza and Trump’s declaration that the war is now over.

BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce were also weaker.