(Reuters) -London’s FTSE 100 closed modestly higher on Tuesday, as mounting U.S.-China trade tensions kept investors on edge, while losses in industrial metal miners were offset by gains in consumer staples.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 edged up 0.1% recovering earlier losses, while the domestically focused FTSE 250 fell 0.16%.
On Friday, global stocks slumped after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened 100% tariffs on Chinese goods in response to Beijing’s rare earths export controls.
Markets rebounded on Monday after Trump struck a softer tone over the weekend, but tensions flared again on Tuesday when both countries began charging additional tit-for-tat port fees on ocean shipping firms that move everything from holiday toys to crude oil.
In the market, the British homebuilders index outperformed peers with 2.2% gains after the government unveiled planning reforms aimed at speeding up housing construction.
Bellway rose 5.3% after it raised its dividend and announced a 150-million-pound ($199.20 million) share buyback after beating annual pretax profit expectations.
Peers Persimmon and Berkeley were among the top gainers in the FTSE 100, up 2.6% and 2.4%, respectively.
EasyJet jumped 8% emerging as the top performer in FTSE 100 after media reports of the budget airliner’s possible acquisition by global shipping company Mediterranean Shipping.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund slightly raised its growth forecast for Britain this year but lowered it for 2026, and projected the country to have the highest inflation among major advanced economies in both 2025 and 2026.
Growth in average British earnings slowed slightly in the three months to August, official data showed on Tuesday, suggesting the Bank of England may be able to continue cutting interest rates, albeit very gradually.
BoE officials held interest rates at 4% last month while keeping an eye on inflationary pressures, including wage growth. Meanwhile, investors are fully pricing in the next rate cut only by April 2026, according to LSEG data.
Keeping gains at check, industrial metal miners shed 1.2%, tracking weaker copper prices. [MET/L]
Anglo American and Glencore were among the biggest losers on the FTSE 100, falling 2.8% and 1.1% respectively.
Energy heavyweight BP dropped 1.3% after flagging weak oil trading performance.
(Reporting by Sanchayaita Roy and Avinash P in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng and David Gregorio)
