A member of staff next to a trading board at the London Stock Exchange on April 25, 2025.
Carl Court | Getty Images
While global markets have been gripped by turbulence in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s seesawing tariffs policies, British stocks have enjoyed a bumper rally.
London’s FTSE 100 index, which has gained 4.8% since the beginning of the year, was 0.8% higher at 1:00 p.m. in the U.K. on Friday — putting it on track for its longest ever run of daily gains. Later in the afternoon, the index rose above 8,600 points, recovering its losses since the day the final list list of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs was unveiled.
On Thursday, the index closed marginally higher, marking its fourteenth consecutive session of gains. This has happened only once before, in 2017, when the FTSE 100 saw fourteen back-to-back daily rises.
London’s more domestically focused FTSE 250 has also been on a winning streak of late, having notched seven consecutive days of gains by Thursday’s closing bell. On Friday, the index was trading flat, paring earlier gains. If the index ends Friday’s session in positive territory, it would mark the FTSE 250’s longest run of gains since late 2020.
London-listed equities that saw the biggest gains on Friday included British food outlet operator SSP Group, up 4%, English healthcare firm Haleon, up 3.8%, and U.K.-based aerospace firm Melrose Industries, which rose by 3.6%.
Safe haven for tariffs?
When it comes to what’s fueling the rise of British stock markets, the U.K.’s unique position away from the firing line of new U.S. tariffs is part of the picture, according to Naeem Aslam, chief investment officer at London’s Zaye Capital Markets.
“The easing of U.S.-China trade tensions and the removal of tariff threats have boosted confidence, while the United Kingdom’s neutral trade status has shielded it from the more punitive levies faced by the European Union or China,” he said in an email.
The U.K. has been spared from the brunt of the Trump administration’s so-called reciprocal tariffs, and last month Vice President JD Vance said he saw a “good chance” of Britain forging a trade deal with the United States that would give the U.K. further reprieve from the duties.
“The index’s defensive giants — healthcare (e.g., AstraZeneca), energy (e.g., Shell), and consumer staples — have drawn investors seeking refuge from volatility, supported by a high dividend yield of between 3.5% and 4%,” Aslam told CNBC on Friday.
“Furthermore, robust corporate results from the likes of Whitbread (+3.4%) and Entain (+6.8%), combined with a resilient UK economy growing at an annualized rate of 1.5%, also add fuel to the rally, making the FTSE 100 a relative safe haven.”
Aslam said the FTSE 100’s upward momentum could continue if defensive stocks remain in favor — however, he noted that there were “risks abound.”
“Technical point to the index, being overbought … suggesting a pullback,” he said. “Geopolitical hotspots or revived tariff tensions may upset momentum, while a firmer pound (around $1.30) could put pressure on export-heavy members.”
However, he noted that undervaluation relative to the FTSE 100’s global peers combined with expectations of multiple interest rate cuts from the Bank of England this year, could push the index as high as 8,900 points by the end of next month — a return of around 4% from current levels.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, agreed that the blue-chip index has the potential to extend its record run.
“The FTSE 100 has significantly more power in reserve and could have further to run, given that the index is not yet regained the record levels reached in March,” she told CNBC via email on Friday.
However, she noted that uncertainty over U.S. trade policy and the extent of the effect on the global economy, had the potential to put a lid on further gains.
In a note to clients on Thursday, Bank of America strategists ranked the UK as its 10th best performing equity market with returns of 12.6% from the beginning of the year to the end of April. The top of the list was dominated by European markets including Spain, Greece and Germany, while U.S. stocks — down by around 5% on a year-to-date basis — were ranked in 20th place.
Bob Huxford, head of the public companies division at London-based communications agency SEC Newgate, told CNBC on Friday that volatility in U.S. equity markets presented British capital markets with an opportunity to regain some of the ground lost to the U.S. in recent years.
“The London market has undergone nine successive years of outflows, with 2024 the worst year on record when £9.6 billion left our shores, mostly headed for America,” he said. “Current uncertainty in the US stock market offers a chance for the UK to reverse this trend. Money is already flowing from the US, and there are a host of reasons why the UK represents a port in a storm amid the market turmoil.”
— CNBC’s Ganesh Rao contributed to this report.
