London close: Stocks hit new high on UK data, trade tariff ruling

(Sharecast News) - Encouraging UK economic data and a monumental ruling by the US Supreme Court on Donald Trump's trade tariffs led to another record close in London on Friday, helped by solid gains in the mining and financial sectors. The Footsie finished 0.6% higher at a new peak of 10,686.89.

This was the fifth gain in six days for the UK benchmark, pushing it marginally above Wednesday's previous record closing high of 10,686.18.

News that the US Supreme Court had struck down the president's controversial "reciprocal" trade tariffs sparked a positive start on Wall Street. The court voted 6-3 to prevent Trump from using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose additional duties on countries on the grounds of national security.

While the president can still use other powers to levy tariffs on America's trading partners, working out how $133bn in trade tariffs gets refunded to businesses and consumers is likely to lead to significant trade uncertainty over the coming months.

Closer to home, data released early on showed the UK government recorded its highest surplus in January since records began in 1993, handing a welcome boost to Chancellor Rachel Reeves ahead of the Spring Budget. The surplus came in at £30.4bn, above expectations of £24bn and double the figure from January 2025. It was also £6.3bn above the Office for Budget Responsibility's November 2025 forecast.

Data from the ONS showed that retail sales rose 1.8% on the month in January following a 0.4% increase in December and comfortably beating expectations for 0.2% growth. On a yearly basis, sales were up 4.5%, ahead of expectations for a 2.8% jump.

Meanwhile, the S&P Global flash UK composite output index ticked up to 53.9 from 53.7 in January, marking the fastest rise in private sector activity since April 2024. This was driven by a sharper expansion of manufacturing production, though service sector output growth eased fractionally.

In other news, geopolitical tensions were in focus after Trump gave Iran a deadline of 10 to 15 days to make a deal over its nuclear programme or "bad things" would happen.

At the inaugural meeting of his Board of Peace in Washington, Trump said Iran needed to reach a "meaningful" agreement with the US amid a massive US military buildup in the Middle East. "It's proven to be over the years not easy to make a meaningful deal with Iran - we have to make a meaningful deal otherwise bad things happen," he said.

Anglo impresses with results

Mining peers Antofagasta and Anglo American were on the rise, along with financials Lloyds, Aviva and London Stock Exchange Group, as risk appetite improved.

Anglo American also gained as it reported a slight rise in annual earnings as higher copper prices offset a 10% decline in production of the metal due to lower grades and plant maintenance while continuing tough conditions at its De Beers diamond unit also weighed on earnings.

Drinks firm Diageo fizzed higher ahead of interim results next Wednesday, while Burberry shares sparked as Italy's Moncler - famous for its puffer jackets - reported better-than-expected full-year results.

British Gas owner Centrica also provided a lift, having tumbled on Thursday after saying it was pausing its share buyback programme as it reported a decline in full-year operating profit, with guidance from the energy firm also disappointing.

St James's Place was boosted by an upgrade to 'buy' at UBS, while BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust rallied on news it's planning to merge with BlackRock Throgmorton Trust.

On the downside, Chemring slumped after saying it had a slower-than-expected start to the year, mainly due to some operational disruption in countermeasures production.

Aston Martin Lagonda fell as it said it was planning to sell the naming rights to its Formula 1 team for £50m to boost its liquidity, and warned its annual loss would be worse than expected, partly due to US tariffs.



Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,686.89 0.56% FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,751.56 0.76% techMARK (TASX) 6,145.42 0.40%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Diageo (DGE) 1,851.00p 3.90% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,213.50p 3.32% Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,992.00p 3.02% British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,569.00p 2.15% Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 104.15p 2.11% SEGRO (SGRO) 814.00p 1.98% Aviva (AV.) 655.40p 1.96% Centrica (CNA) 189.45p 1.91% Croda International (CRDA) 3,000.00p 1.90% London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 7,922.00p 1.85%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,643.00p -3.80% BP (BP.) 467.60p -2.38% CRH (CDI) (CRH) 9,178.00p -1.40% Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,953.50p -1.16% Mondi (MNDI) 926.40p -0.92% Convatec Group (CTEC) 228.80p -0.78% Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 6,416.00p -0.62% Kingfisher (KGF) 354.90p -0.62% GSK (GSK) 2,213.00p -0.58% Tesco (TSCO) 494.60p -0.44%

FTSE 250 - Risers

TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 4,665.00p 8.49% 4Imprint Group (FOUR) 4,030.00p 4.40% Energean (ENOG) 907.50p 4.37% AEP Plantations (AEP) 1,575.00p 3.96% Pan African Resources (PAF) 168.00p 3.83% Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 188.00p 3.30% BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust (BRSC) 1,418.00p 3.20% AO World (AO.) 100.40p 3.08% Trustpilot Group (TRST) 142.00p 2.90% Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 5,530.00p 2.79%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Chemring Group (CHG) 510.00p -2.30% Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 1,022.00p -1.73% Ithaca Energy (ITH) 202.00p -1.70% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 58.65p -1.59% Carnival (CCL) 2,349.00p -1.51% BioPharma Credit (BPCR) 0.93p -1.27% Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 94.10p -1.16% Oakley Capital Investments Limited (DI) (OCI) 536.00p -1.11% SSP Group (SSPG) 201.00p -0.99% Harbour Energy (HBR) 226.20p -0.96%