FTSE 100 hits record high as investors shrug off trade war concerns
The FTSE 100 index of the most valuable companies on the London Stock Exchange has soared to a record high as investors shrugged off concerns over Donald Trump’s trade wars.The FTSE 100 had the 9,000-point mark in its sights on Thursday, as it climbed to 8,979 points, above its previous all-time high of 8,908 points.Stocks rose in London amid a global rally, as traders grew confident that Trump would either reach agreements with US trading partners, or again delay or dial back his threatened tariffs.Mining stocks led the FTSE 100 risers, with Anglo American, Glencore and Rio Tinto gaining about 3.8%.
Victoria Scholar, the head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: “Commodities are fuelling the gains for the FTSE 100, with copper in the green and gold catching a bid on the back of a weaker US dollar.”The FTSE 100 ended the day at a new closing high of 8,975 points, a rise of 108.6 points or 1.23% during the day.The blue-chip share index has now risen by more than 9% during 2025, having recovered from sharp losses in early April when markets tumbled after Trump announced new tariffs on what he called “liberation day”, before recovering after he postponed them.
The precious metals producer Fresnillo has been the top-performing FTSE 100 stock so far this year; its shares are up 140% since 1 January, driven by gains in the prices of gold and silver,The British defence company Babcock’s share price has doubled so far this year, while the weapons-maker BAE Systems is up 63% year-to-date, helped by expectations of a surge in defence spending as the Russia-Ukraine war continued,Shares have pushed higher this week despite Trump announcing new tariff rates that will be imposed on imports from 1 August, postponed from a previous date of 9 July,Chris Beauchamp, the chief market analyst at IG, said investors were in an “ebullient summer mood”,“Perhaps most notable is the market’s apparent indifference to escalating trade tensions.
Trump’s 50% tariff on copper imports and threats toward Brazil triggered little reaction.Many now view such announcements as political posturing, summed up by Taco: Trump always chickens out,” he said.Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionGermany’s DAX share index also hit a record high on Thursday.It has gained more than 23% so far this year, lifted by plans from the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, to increase government spending to drive investment and lift growth.The FTSE 100 is seen as a gauge of optimism about the world economy, as many of the largest companies listed in London have a global focus.
Susannah Streeter, the head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The FTSE 100 is stuffed full of multinationals, which are sensitive to the outlook for the world economy,With the so-called Taco trade in full swing, it’s benefiting from more optimism around,”She added: “Investors expect that Trump will ‘chicken out’ from imposing his threat,”
UK government’s deal with Google ‘dangerously naive’, say campaigners
Google has agreed a sweeping deal with the UK government to provide free technology to the public sector from the NHS to local councils– a move campaigners have called “dangerously naive”.The US company will be asked to “upskill” tens of thousands of civil servants in technology, including in using artificial intelligence, as part of an agreement that will not require the government to pay. It is considered in Whitehall to be giving Google “a foot in the door” as the digitisation of public services accelerates.However, the agreement prompted concerns about the precariousness of UK public data potentially being held on US servers amid the unpredictable leadership of Donald Trump.The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said Google Cloud, which provides databases, machine learning and computing power, had “agreed to work with the UK government in helping public services use advanced tech to shake off decades old ‘ball and chain’ legacy contracts which leave essential services vulnerable to cyber-attack”
Linda Yaccarino stepping down as CEO of Elon Musk’s X
The CEO of X, Elon Musk’s social network, announced on Wednesday she would resign.“After two incredible years, I’ve decided to step down as CEO of 𝕏,” Linda Yaccarino wrote.Musk replied to her tweet: “Thank you for your contributions.”The outgoing CEO said, “When @elonmusk and I first spoke of his vision for X, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to carry out the extraordinary mission of this company. I’m immensely grateful to him for entrusting me with the responsibility of protecting free speech, turning the company around, and transforming X into the Everything App
Nvidia becomes first company to reach $4tn in market value
Chipmaker Nvidia became the first public company in history to scale a $4tn market value on Wednesday as its stock price continues a years-long stratospheric rise.Shares of the top chip designer rose roughly 2.4% to $164, benefiting from the ongoing surge in demand for artificial intelligence technologies. Nvidia’s chips and associated software are considered world leaders for building artificial intelligence products.Nvidia achieved a $1tn market value for the first time back in June 2023 and the surge continued unabated with its market value – the total value of its shares – more than tripling in about a year, faster than Apple and Microsoft, the only other US firms with a market value of more than $3tn
Sony WH-1000XM6 review: raising the bar for noise-cancelling headphones
Sony’s latest top-of-the-range Bluetooth headphones seek to reclaim the throne for the best noise cancellers money can buy with changes inside and out.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The Sony 1000X series has long featured some of the best noise cancelling you can buy and has been locked in a battle with rival Bose for the top spot
Futurist Adam Dorr on how robots will take our jobs: ‘We don’t have long to get ready – it’s going to be tumultuous’
If Adam Dorr is correct, robots and artificial intelligence will dominate the global economy within a generation and put virtually the entire human race out of a job. The social scientist doubles up as a futurist and has a stark vision of the scale, speed and unstoppability of a technological transformation that he says will replace virtually all human labour within 20 years.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more
Musk’s AI firm forced to delete posts praising Hitler from Grok chatbot
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence firm xAI has deleted “inappropriate” posts on X after the company’s chatbot, Grok, began praising Adolf Hitler, referring to itself as MechaHitler and making antisemitic comments in response to user queries.In some now-deleted posts, it referred to a person with a common Jewish surname as someone who was “celebrating the tragic deaths of white kids” in the Texas floods as “future fascists”.“Classic case of hate dressed as activism – and that surname? Every damn time, as they say,” the chatbot commented.In another post it said, “Hitler would have called it out and crushed it.”The Guardian has been unable to confirm if the account that was being referred to belonged to a real person or not and media reports suggest it has now been deleted
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