Britain’s main indexes climbed on Friday, poised for weekly and monthly gains, despite a U.S. appeals court reinstating President Donald Trump’s tariffs just a day after a trade court had ordered an immediate block on them.
As of 1009 GMT, the blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.8% and was on track to end the month higher with three consecutive weeks of gains.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington on Thursday temporarily reinstated Trump’s duties while it considers the government’s appeal, injecting more uncertainty into the market.
The Trump administration has said negotiations with top trading partners have continued despite the trade court’s block. Britain is the only country to have signed a deal.
On the economic front, Bank of England policymaker Alan Taylor dismissed inflation concerns and called for lower interest rates. Taylor was one of the two members who had voted for a bigger half-point cut in May. The BoE had cut interest rates by quarter of a percentage point.
Additionally, a survey showed that the British public’s expectations for inflation over the year ahead fell in May to 4% from 4.2%.
The domestically focussed mid-cap FTSE 250 was on-track for a second month of gains. It was up 0.6% on Friday.
Investment banking and brokerage services sub-index advanced 1.5%, with insurer and asset manager M&G rising 5.6% after Japan’s Dai-ichi Life Holdings said it plans to buy a 15% stake.
Source: Globalbankingandfinance