FTSE 100 breaks 9,000-point barrier to reach new high
Britain’s blue-chip stock index has risen through the 9,000-point mark to reach a new high.The FTSE 100 share index hit 9,016.98 points in early trading on Tuesday, taking its gains during 2025 to more than 10%.Analysts said the London stock market had benefited from a range of factors this year, including a move by some investors to diversify away from US shares because of concerns about Donald Trump’s economic policies.The US president’s trade war has also helped UK stocks, as Britain is one of the few countries to have reached a trade deal guaranteeing lower tariffs.
The AJ Bell investment analyst Dan Coatsworth said: “With the UK having already reached an agreement on a 10% tariff for trade with the US, with exemptions for certain industries, the country is now seen to have an advantage in terms of trade relations.”However, the FTSE 100 fell back below 9,000 points during the session, and closed almost 60 points lower at 8,938 points, after a rise in the US inflation rate dampened hopes of early interest rate cuts in America.In recent years, the London stock market has been derided as a “Jurassic Park” index, due to its reliance on companies in long-established industries and a shortage of fast-growing tech companies.However, that reliance has proved an asset in uncertain times.“The UK stock market is the calming cup of tea and biscuit in an uncertain world,” Coatsworth said.
“There’s nothing fancy on offer, just reliable names that do their job day in, day out.That’s an underrated characteristic and a reason why investors are finally warming to the UK stock market’s appeal in 2025.”However, Trump’s trade war has created choppy conditions in financial markets throughout 2025.The FTSE 100 index fell as low as 7,544 points in early April, when tariff announcements sent shares tumbling.It then recovered sharply, as traders embraced the “Taco trade” – the idea that Trump always chickens out if his policies spook investors.
The precious metals producer Fresnillo has been the top riser on the FTSE 100 so far this year, up by more than 140%,It has benefited from surging prices, with gold hitting several record highs this year and silver trading at a 14-year peak this week,The prospect of higher military spending has pushed up shares in the defence contractor Babcock by 115% this year, with BAE Systems up 65%,The engineering firm Rolls-Royce has gained 75%, as its turnaround plan has yielded results,John Moore, a wealth manager at RBC Brewin Dolphin, said “strong earnings momentum in the banking and defence sectors” had helped to push the FTSE 100 to a record high.
Moore also credited the UK’s “relative political stability”.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 promotion“While there may be tax increases to come, which was part of the reason for the sell-off of the pound in early June, the government has a clear mandate and tenure for the next few years,” he said.“That compares favourably to other parts of Europe, even, where coalition governments are having a tough time.”Roughly 75% of the FTSE 100’s earnings come from overseas, meaning the index is a gauge of global economic prospects rather than the health of the UK economy.But some domestically focused stocks have had a good 2025, so far.
Lloyds Banking Group has gained 38%, the retailer Next is up 28%, and the wealth manager St James’s Place has risen 40%.Ben Russon, co-head of UK equities (large cap) at the investment manager Martin Currie, argued that the FTSE 100’s rally was showcasing the strength of the UK market.Russon suggested that the outlook for the UK economy is “increasingly bright”, and that expectations of more interest rate cuts this year were fuelling optimism.“International investors are taking notice.With the pound holding steady and UK equities looking attractively priced versus global peers, private equity is ramping up deal activity and targeting undervalued mid-sized companies ready to benefit from the UK’s coming upswing,” he added.
The UK market has risen faster than Wall Street this year, where the S&P 500 index is up 6.75% during 2025.But Germany’s DAX index has outperformed both, up by more than 20% owing to Berlin’s plans to lift government spending and investment.
BAE Systems says it is ‘confident’ of receiving orders for Typhoon jets
The British weapons manufacturer BAE Systems has said it is confident of receiving further export orders for the Typhoon fighter jet, a development that would secure the future of several hundred jobs at its factory in Lancashire.The company is hoping for as many as 150 more orders for the jet, with up to two-thirds of those expected to be assembled in the UK. It comes after Unite, a union representing manufacturing workers, raised concerns over the future of the assembly line at Warton.Richard Hamilton, who leads work on the Typhoon for BAE Systems, said he was “really confident” of future orders, with Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia the likely buyers.FTSE 100 manufacturer BAE Systems is the UK’s dominant defence maker, producing weapons ranging from tanks, to warships and nuclear submarines, as well as fighter jets
FTSE 100 breaks 9,000-point barrier to reach new high
Britain’s blue-chip stock index has risen through the 9,000-point mark to reach a new high.The FTSE 100 share index hit 9,016.98 points in early trading on Tuesday, taking its gains during 2025 to more than 10%.Analysts said the London stock market had benefited from a range of factors this year, including a move by some investors to diversify away from US shares because of concerns about Donald Trump’s economic policies.The US president’s trade war has also helped UK stocks, as Britain is one of the few countries to have reached a trade deal guaranteeing lower tariffs
Elmo’s X account posts racist and antisemitic messages after being hacked
Hackers gained access to the X account of the puppet Elmo over the weekend and used it to post racist and antisemitic threats as well as make profane references to Jeffrey Epstein. Sesame Workshop was still trying to regain full control on Monday over the red character’s account.“Elmo’s X account was compromised by an unknown hacker who posted disgusting messages, including antisemitic and racist posts. We are working to restore full control of the account,” a Sesame Workshop spokesperson said on Monday. Sesame Workshop is the non-profit behind Sesame Street and Elmo
Musk’s giant Tesla factory casts shadow on lives in a quiet corner of Germany
Politics of carmaker’s owner has soured sentiments in Grünheide, south-east of Berlin, where the factory promised jobs and revitalisationWhen Elon Musk advised Germans to vote for the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in elections last year, Manu Hoyer – who lives in the small town where the billionaire had built Tesla’s European production hub – wrote to the state premier to complain.“How can you do business with someone who supports rightwing extremism?” she asked Dietmar Woidke, the Social Democrat leader of the eastern state of Brandenburg, who had backed the setting up of the Tesla Giga factory in Grünheide.Hoyer said that in Woidke’s “disappointing, but predictable” answer, he denied the charge. “He said he didn’t know him personally. As if that excused him
Future British & Irish Lions tour of France on the agenda at Melbourne summit
A British & Irish Lions tour of France could move a step closer next week when executives hold talks over “a new business model” in Melbourne before the second Test of the series against Australia.Abdel Benazzi, the vice-president of the French federation (FFR), held informal discussions with Lions executives in Dublin before the warm-up match against Argentina, and he will travel to Australia next week to further press his nation’s claims of facing the touring side again, having previously done so in 1989. France have emerged as leading contenders to face the Lions in a warm-up match before the tour of New Zealand in 2029 and, according to Benazzi, could also fulfil the same role before the inaugural women’s tour in 2027, also to New Zealand.More recently, however, there has been a groundswell of support for a tour of France, with leading Top 14 sides such as Toulouse and Bordeaux offering the prospect of competitive warm-up matches before a mouthwatering series against Les Bleus in contrast to the currently one-sided tour of Australia. The former Wales scrum-half Mike Phillips last week became the most recent former Lion to throw his weight behind the prospect, suggesting a tour of France would be a “gamechanger”
Cherished champion and statesman: Usyk focuses on Ukraine before titles
On Monday afternoon, in central London, Oleksandr Usyk looked resplendent on an open-topped black bus as he prepared to send loaded messages to Daniel Dubois, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. High in the air he held three fingers on his right hand to signify his intention to become a three-time undisputed world champion. It was a typical sporting gesture and underlined his determination to defeat Dubois at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night and follow his earlier achievements in winning all the belts as a cruiserweight and then, last year, becoming the first boxer to unify the world heavyweight division this century.Usyk remains the WBA, WBC and WBO champion but boxing politics forced him to vacate his IBF title soon after he beat Tyson Fury in their magnificent first world title unification fight 14 months ago in Riyadh. He looks ready now for the dangerous challenge of Dubois, the new IBF champion, but Usyk’s arrival in London was a timely reminder of the far more significant role he plays in Ukraine
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