London market rebounds after Trump steel tariff hit

London’s FTSE 100 Index has rallied following sharp falls on Tuesday as global stock markets were sent reeling by US President Donald Trump’s moves to impose hefty tariffs on steel and aluminium.

The UK blue chip index rebounded on Wednesday as hopes of a ceasefire in Ukraine offered a boost to battered investor sentiment.

It was also helped by a stronger opening in the US, reversing some of the sharp losses from the past few days, with investors in better spirits after the release of better-than-expected inflation data.

At close, the FTSE 100 was 44.98 points higher, or 0.53%, at 8,540.97.

It was a similar picture across Europe, with the Dax in Germany rebounding by 1.56% and France’s Cac 40 by 0.59% when markets closed.

The top shares tier had fallen 1.2% on Tuesday, hitting its lowest level since mid-January.

There were further hefty overnight falls on Wall Street where recession fears are mounting amid worries over an all-out trade war.

Traders are expecting a “mini-breather” in US markets after recent heavy falls, although volatility will remain heightened as the US president’s tariff actions spark retaliation.

The US tariffs came into effect at midnight in the US, around 4am GMT, and raise a flat duty on steel and aluminium entering America to 25%.

The European Union has already announced it will introduce counter-measures on American goods from April, though Britain has so far resisted taking immediate retaliatory action.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said London stocks are receiving a welcome boost as soured relations between the US and Ukraine appear to be easing, with a potential 30-day ceasefire appearing to be back on the cards.

“The easing of geopolitical concerns will help improve sentiment to some extent, but investors will still be mulling the impact of tariffs on global growth and prospects for multinationals in an increasingly complex trading world,” she said.

“UK steel exporters are bracing for harsh winds to blow a storm through the industry, which has already been battered by higher energy costs, weaker demand, and over-supply on world markets.”