Business
UK stocks spooked by new Trump threat of fresh tariffs on China
The FTSE 100 fell sharply into the close on Friday as US President Donald Trump threatened China with a massive increase in tariffs amid a critical minerals dispute.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 81.93 points, 0.9%, at 9,427.47. It had earlier traded as high as 9,519.96.
The FTSE 250 ended 250.99 points lower, 1.1%, at 21,801.84, and the AIM All-Share fell 7.37 points, 0.9%, to 786.33.
For the week, the FTSE 100 was down 0.7%, the FTSE 250 fell 1.8% and the AIM All-Share was down 1.3%.
In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed down 1.5%, as did the DAX 40 in Frankfurt.
Stocks in New York were down sharply at the time of the London close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.2%, the S&P 500 was 1.6% lower while the Nasdaq Composite declined 2.2%.
Stocks in London had struggled for impetus on Friday before Mr Trump’s latest missive.
Writing on Truth Social, the US president said China is becoming “very hostile” and wants to impose export controls relating to “each and every” element of production relating to rare earths.
Mr Trump called the move “surprising” and said there is “no way” that China should be allowed to hold the world “captive”.
The president said, depending on China’s response, he will be forced to “financially counter the move”.
“One of the policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of tariffs on Chinese products” coming into the US, he said.
“There are many other countermeasures that are, likewise, under serious consideration,” he added.
Mr Trump said he saw “no reason” to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The comments sparked further falls in the oil price, and bonds, and put pressure on the dollar.
The pound was quoted higher at 1.3338 US dollars at the time of the London equity market close on Friday, compared to 1.3305 dollars on Thursday.
The euro stood at 1.1616 dollars compared to 1.1563 dollars. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at 151.87 yen, lower compared to 153.11 yen.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.07%, narrowed from 4.15% on Thursday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury stood at 4.66%, down from 4.73%.
Brent oil traded at 63.19 US dollars a barrel on Friday, down sharply from 65.95 dollars late on Thursday.
Shell fell 2.9% while BP shed 2.8%.
But gold, which had been trading back below 4,000 dollars perked up, trading at 4,014.76 dollars an ounce on Friday, still down against 4,020.10 dollars on Thursday.
Mr Trump’s comments added to the uncertainty caused by the ongoing federal government shutdown in the US.
Henry Allen, at Deustche Bank, said the fear is that the longer it lasts, the worse the economic impact will be, noting the Polymarket odds of the shutdown ending before October 15 are down to just 8%.
The shutdown is likely to see a delay to US inflation, retail sales and industrial production figures next week.
On Friday, figures showed showed US consumer confidence was largely unmoved in October, according to preliminary data from the University of Michigan, showing little initial impact from the federal government shutdown.
The index of consumer sentiment ebbed fractionally to 55 points in October, from 55.1 in September. On-year, it tumbled from 70.5.
“Overall, consumers perceive very few changes in the outlook for the economy from last month,” the university said.
“Pocketbook issues like high prices and weakening job prospects remain at the forefront of consumers’ minds. At this time, consumers do not expect meaningful improvement in these factors.
“Meanwhile, interviews reveal little evidence that the ongoing federal government shutdown has moved consumers’ views of the economy thus far.”
Oliver Allen, senior US economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the lack of a “meaningful” fall in the survey’s headline index in October is “encouraging”, given that about half of the report’s responses will have been taken since the government shutdown began.
On London’s FTSE 100, Compass Group rose 0.9% as Bank of America resumed coverage with a “buy” rating.
The broker expects the contract foodservice company to benefit from industry growth tailwinds, and outsized market share gains from first-time outsourcing and competition.
The Bank of America pointed out Compass is gaining market share, not just from self-operated and regional players, but likely also from larger peers.
Sage Group firmed 1.4% as Citi opened a “positive catalyst watch” and reiterated a “buy” rating ahead of full-year results in November.
The broker noted the accountancy software provider’s share price has been knocked by concerns of AI disruption.
But Citi is confident that Sage has the “right levers” to sustain the growth, and potential to accelerate in a better macro set-up.
“AI would remain (a) key topic of debate, at the same time Sage efforts on bringing and commercialising AI use cases should be more visible in 2026,” Citi said.
On the FTSE 250, building materials outfit Ibstock fell 4.0% as it reported “weaker than expected demand” in the UK in recent months.
Ibstock says a more uncertain near-term backdrop for its core construction markets has caused demand to be weaker than expected, hurting Clay and Concrete revenue during the third quarter.
Both sales volumes and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation are expected to be flat in the second half of 2025, showing no improvement from the first half.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were: Admiral, up 58p at 3,388p; Imperial Brands, up 49p at 3,143p; Unilever, up 64p at 4,485p; Sage Group, up 15.5 pence at 1,127.5p; and St James’s Place, up 13.5p at 1,325p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were: Entain, down 33.2p at 805p; Mondi, down 30.2p at 824.1p; Glencore, down 11.3p at 345.85p; Rightmove, down 21.8p at 675.8p; and Shell, down 80.5p at 2,696p.
No major events are scheduled for Monday’s global economic diary with financial markets closed in Canada and bond markets shut in the US. Later in the week, GDP and jobs market figures will be released in the UK and inflation data in China.
Next week’s UK corporate calendar has full-year results from housebuilder Bellway, and half-year results from premier Inn owner Whitbread.
Contributed by Alliance News
One of Britain’s most prolific rail fare dodgers could face jail after admitting dozens of travel offences.
Charles Brohiri, 29, pleaded guilty to travelling without buying a ticket a total of 112 times over a two-year period, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
He could be ordered to pay more than £18,000 in unpaid fares and legal costs, the court was told.
He will be sentenced next month.
District Judge Nina Tempia warned Brohiri “could face a custodial sentence because of the number of offences he has committed”.
He pleaded guilty to 76 offences on Thursday.
It came after he was convicted in his absence of 36 charges at a previous hearing.
During Thursday’s hearing, Judge Tempia dismissed a bid by Brohiri’s lawyers to have the 36 convictions overturned.
They had argued the prosecutions were unlawful because they had not been brought by a qualified legal professional.
But Judge Tempia rejected the argument, saying there had been “no abuse of this court’s process”.
JSW Jetour T2 Launch: JSW Motors Limited, the passenger vehicle arm of the JSW Group, is reportedly preparing to enter the Indian car market this year. It has partnered with Jetour, a China-based automotive brand owned by Chery Automobile, and the Jetour T2 SUV could be the company’s first product, according to the reports.
Media reports suggest that the launch will happen independently and not under the JSW MG Motor India joint venture. The SUV will wear a JSW badge and name, instead of the Jetour branding. The upcoming SUV will be assembled at JSW’s upcoming greenfield manufacturing facility in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra.
According to the reports, the company plans to have the vehicle on sale by the third quarter of this year. With this move, JSW aims to establish itself as a standalone carmaker in India.
Expected Powertrain
The SUV is likely to arrive with a 1.5-litre plug-in hybrid setup. Internationally, this hybrid powertrain is offered with both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive options. It is still unclear which version will be introduced in India.
Design
In terms of design, the T2 is a large and rugged-looking SUV. It has a boxy and upright stance, similar to vehicles like the Land Rover Defender. Despite its tough appearance, it uses a monocoque chassis instead of a ladder-frame construction.
Size
The SUV measures around 4.7 metres in length and nearly 2 metres in width. This makes it larger than the Tata Safari, even though it is a five-seater. A longer 7-seat version is also sold in some markets.
Price
Pricing details for India are yet to be announced. For reference, the front-wheel-drive five-seat T2 i-DM is priced at AED 1,44,000 (around Rs 35 lakh) in the UAE.
Jetour
Jetour is a brand owned by Chinese automaker Chery. Launched in 2018, it focuses mainly on SUVs and is present in markets across China, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
John Swinney has been pressed over whether this week’s Scottish Budget gives some workers the “smallest tax cut in history” – with Tory leader Russell Findlay branding the reduction “miserly” and “insulting”.
The Scottish Conservative leader challenged the First Minister after Tuesday’s Holyrood Budget effectively cut taxes for lower earners, by increasing the threshold for the basic and intermediate bands of income tax.
But Mr Findlay said that would leave workers at most £31.75 a year better off – saying this amounts to a saving of just £61p a week
“That wouldn’t even buy you a bag of peanuts,” the Scottish Tory leader said.
“John Swinney’s Budget might even have broken a world record, because a Scottish Government tax adviser says it ‘maybe the smallest tax cut in history’.”
Raising the “miserly cut” at First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish Parliament, Mr Findlay demanded to know if the SNP leader believed his “insulting tax cut will actually help Scotland’s struggling households”.
The attack came as the Tory accused the SNP government of increasing taxes on higher earners, with its freeze on higher income tax thresholds, which will pull more Scots into these brackets.
This is needed to pay for the “SNP’s out of control, unaffordable benefits bill”, the Conservative added.
Mr Findlay said: “The Scottish Conservatives will not back and cannot back a Budget that does nothing to help Scotland’s workers and businesses.
“It hammers people with higher taxes to fund a bloated benefits system.”
Hitting out at Labour – whose leader Anas Sarwar has already declared they will not block the government’s Budget – Mr Findlay said: “It is absolutely mind-blowing that Labour and other so-called opposition parties will let this SNP boorach of a budget pass.
“Don’t the people of Scotland deserve lower taxes, fairer benefits and a government focused on economic growth?”
Mr Swinney said the Budget “delivers on the priorities of the people of Scotland” by “strengthening our National Health Service and supporting people and businesses with the challenges of the cost of living”.
He insisted income tax decisions in the Budget would mean that in 2026-27 “55% of Scottish taxpayers are now expected to pay less income tax than if they lived in England”.
The First Minister went on to say that showed “the people of Scotland have a Government that is on their side”.
Referring to polls putting his party on course to win the Holyrood elections in May, the SNP leader added that “all the current indications show the people of Scotland want to have this Government here for the long term”.
Benefits funding is “keeping children out of poverty”, he told MSPs, adding the Budget contained a “range of measures” that would build on existing support.
The First Minister said: “What that is a demonstration of is a Government that is on the side of the people of Scotland and I am proud of the measures we set out in the Budget on Tuesday.”
Meanwhile he said the Tories wanted to make tax cuts that would cost £1 billion, with “not a scrap of detail about how that would be delivered”.
With the weekly leaders’ question time clash coming less than 48 hours after the draft 2026-27 Budget was unveiled, the First Minister also faced questions from Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar, who insisted that the proposals “lacks ambition for Scotland”.
Pressing his SNP rival, the Scottish Labour leader said: “While he brags about his £6 a year tax cut for the lowest paid, one million Scots including nurses, teachers and police officers face being forced to pay more.
“Even his own tax adviser says this is a political stunt. So why does John Swinney believe that someone earning £33,500 has the broadest shoulders and therefore should pay more tax in Scotland?”
Mr Swinney, however, said that many public sector workers would be better off in Scotland.
He told the Scottish Labour leader: “A band six nurse at the bottom of the scale will take home an additional £1,994 after tax compared to the same band in England.
“A qualified teacher at the bottom of the band will take home £6,365 more after tax in Scotland than the equivalent in England. There are the facts for Mr Sarwar.”
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