London close: FTSE rallies as investors shrug off US tariffs, oil falls back

24th Jul 2026 16:57

(Sharecast News) - London stocks ended firmly in the black on Friday as investors shrugged off fresh US tariffs on more than 60 countries, and as oil prices eased back after Brent breached $100 a barrel for the first time since May.

The FTSE 100 closed up 0.9% at 10,736.23, while Brent crude was down 5.1% at $95.52 a barrel, having breached $100 following attacks by Iran-backed Houthis on two Saudi Arabian tankers. West Texas Intermediate was 4.5% lower at $88.01.

Oil fell back late in the day on a report that Pakistan is ​exploring a path towards a resumption of stalled US-Iran talks following a push initiated by China. Reuters cited three Pakistani sources as saying that exploratory discussions took place during a visit by Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni to Islamabad this week - his second within the last 10 days.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "Having advanced all week, oil prices finally ran into some profit taking today, though further strikes at the weekend are still expected. This is likely to be a temporary respite for stocks generally, since the US and Iran are no closer to beginning any kind of ceasefire talk. Instead, the pressure on equities is likely to resume next week."

Investors were also mulling a fresh round of tariffs from the US to replace a 10% global duty that was due to expire. The US announced on Thursday that it would impose tariffs of between 10% and 12.5% on 60 countries including the UK, Canada and Australia.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said: "The United States has had a forced labour import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it's well past time for our trading partners to do the same.

"Today's action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere."

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Tariffs are back on the list of concerns for global stock markets as the White House brings in a new swathe of levies to replace temporary measures which had just expired.

"The Trump administration was always likely to look for another route to introduce a new round of tariffs after the ruling in February from the Supreme Court that the previous set were illegal.

"But, while the outcome won't come as a complete shock to markets, it is nonetheless another unwelcome source of uncertainty as sentiment is buffeted by the renewed conflict between the US and Iran and concerns about levels of expenditure in the tech sector."

On the macro front, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that retail sales rose 1% on the month in June following a 1.2% jump in May, and versus expectations for a 0.3% decline.

On the year, sales rose 4.2%, ahead of expectations for a 2.3% increase.

The ONS said sales promotions and the warm weather increased sales volumes for non-store and clothing retailers.

The figures showed that the proportion of online sales rose from 28.9% in May to 29.4% in June - the highest proportion since April 2021.

ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach: "Internet retailers did especially well, with businesses telling us that this was because of promotions and the warm weather, with strong demand in June for outdoor products, air conditioning and clothing. Sports merchandise also sold well online."

Elsewhere, a survey showed the private sector returned to growth in July, helped along by the World Cup and the heatwave.

The flash S&P Global UK PMI composite output index rose to a three-month high of 52.1 from 49.3 in June, coming above expectations for a reading of 49.8. A reading above 50.0 signals expansion, while a reading below indicates contraction.

Meanwhile, the flash services PMI business activity index printed at 51.8 in July, up from 48.8 a month earlier and also marking a three-month high. The manufacturing PMI ticked up to 52.8 this month from 52.5 in June.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "Hospitality companies saw demand boosted by good weather, the FIFA World Cup and more domestic holidays, as high costs and uncertainty continued to deter some foreign travel. However, overall services growth remained lacklustre amid cost-of-living pressures.

"Unusually for recent years, manufacturing is now growing faster than services, buoyed by rising exports. One caveat is that manufacturers and their customers continued to build precautionary stocks, widely linked to supply chain disruption caused by the war in the Middle East, meaning part of the recent factory upturn could prove short-lived."

In equity markets, Relx was the top performer, having gained a day earlier as the provider of information-based analytics and decision tools reaffirmed its full-year outlook and posted a rise in first-half revenue and profit.

3i Group was also a high riser again, having said on Thursday that its largest holding, Dutch discount retailer Action, delivered a strong financial performance in the first quarter.

HSBC rose after agreeing to sell its Singapore life and health insurance business to Allianz for $2.1bn in cash.

Discoverie surged as it hailed continued strong momentum in orders and sales and said full-year adjusted earnings were tracking ahead of the board's expectations.

Renishaw also gained as it pointed to a record fourth quarter and said full-year profit would be ahead of expectations.

On the downside, oil giants BP and Shell gushed lower in tandem with oil prices. BP was also in focus following a report it's in advanced talks to sell its solar power arm Lightsource to a consortium backed by Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund.

Wise slumed after being denied a US banking licence.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,736.23 0.91%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,801.49 0.74%

techMARK (TASX) 6,014.26 0.86%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Relx plc (REL) 2,568.00p 4.77%

The Sage Group (SGE) 858.20p 4.45%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,415.60p 4.16%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 88.96p 3.88%

Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 44.02p 3.48%

Experian (EXPN) 2,744.00p 3.35%

3i Group (III) 2,758.00p 3.14%

Informa (INF) 881.00p 3.07%

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,068.00p 2.94%

Weir Group (WEIR) 2,616.00p 2.83%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Airtel Africa (AAF) 334.20p -3.30%

BP (BP.) 548.40p -1.35%

Vodafone Group (VOD) 114.60p -1.33%

Shell (SHEL) 3,305.50p -1.15%

Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,121.00p -1.15%

Halma (HLMA) 3,614.00p -0.99%

Rentokil Initial (RTO) 426.00p -0.81%

Melrose Industries (MRO) 470.40p -0.76%

SSE (SSE) 2,422.00p -0.74%

BT Group (BT.A) 193.00p -0.41%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Discoverie Group (DSCV) 739.00p 6.33%

Renishaw (RSW) 5,205.00p 5.19%

Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) 157.80p 4.92%

Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 163.00p 4.49%

Vistry Group (VTY) 283.40p 4.42%

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,040.00p 4.21%

Foresight Group Holdings Limited NPV (FSG) 475.50p 3.82%

WPP (WPP) 282.50p 3.71%

WH Smith (SMWH) 425.20p 3.71%

Energean (ENOG) 828.00p 3.63%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 4,506.00p -5.34%

XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,698.00p -3.63%

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 35.58p -3.00%

Harbour Energy (HBR) 256.20p -2.36%

Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 995.00p -2.26%

Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 571.00p -2.23%

The Schiehallion Fund Limited NPV (MNTN) 1.96p -2.12%

Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 3,974.00p -1.88%

Pacific Horizon Inv Trust (PHI) 1,064.00p -1.85%

Herald Investment Trust (HRI) 2,975.00p -1.82%