Global stock markets have felt another day of turmoil with London’s FTSE 100 losing more than 100 points on Tuesday, as Donald Trump announced plans to double planned tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium.
The blue-chip index fell 104.23 points, or 1.21%, to close at 8,495.99, hitting the lowest level since mid-January.
Sentiment was knocked by an ongoing sell-off on Wall Street as investors continue to digest the US President’s policies signalling intensifying trade tensions.
New York’s S&P 500 had fallen 1.1%, while Dow Jones dived 1.5% by the time European markets closed.
It was also a weak picture for equity markets in Europe. Germany’s Dax declined 1.29%, and France’s Cac 40 closed 1.31% lower.
“Hopes for a broad-based market recovery on Tuesday have been dashed,” Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB said.
“News that President Trump has slapped a further 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports from Canada has sapped market confidence.
“Tariffs on these imports are now at 50% and are seemingly in retaliation for Ontario’s decision to impose a 25% tariff on electricity exports to the US.
“Back in November, the focus was on the positive impact from Trump’s economic policies – however, now they are reality, his policies are negative for growth, at least in the short to medium term,” she went on.
“Trump’s erratic and reactionary trade policy is eroding faith in US exceptionalism and fuelling recession fears.”
The pound was strengthening against the US dollar on Tuesday, gaining 0.45%, at 1.2935, to hit a four-month high.
On the other hand, it was down 0.4% against the euro, at 1.184.
In company news, Domino’s Pizza recorded an increase in sales and underlying profits for 2024, after launching new stores and planning more openings this year.
The company nonetheless saw pre-tax profits fall on a statutory basis, as it cautioned over an “uncertain economic environment”, but said sales had continued to rise over the start of this year. Shares in Domino’s were down 3.6%.
Housebuilder Persimmon hiked the number of homes it thinks it can sell this year after seeing improving sales in the early part of 2025, and pointing to signs of recovery in the housing market.
It is targeting up to 11,500 homes this year, which would be more than the 10,664 it sold in 2024 – although still significantly lower than the levels seen before interest rates rose. Shares in Persimmon jumped 5.5%.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Persimmon, up 64p to 1,234.5p, London Stock Exchange Group, up 360p to 11,055p, Rolls-Royce, up 14.6p to 747.4p, Barratt Redrow, up 8.1p to 434.9p, and Fresnillo, up 15.5p to 854p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were IAG, down 19p to 291.5p, Rentokil, down 15.4p to 323.4p, Intertek, down 210p to 4,960p, Diploma, down 166p to 4,016p, and Spirax, down 275p to 6,750p.
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