The UK and U.S. moved one step closer to a tariff-free trade agreement
Friday saw mixed fortunes for share prices in Europe, with EU stocks slumping as the prospect of U.S.-imposed tariffs lingers, while the FTSE 100 saw gains on the back of seemingly positive White House talks between Kier Starmer and Donald Trump.
Indeed, the highly-anticipated summit between Starmer and Trump appears to have yielded good results for the United Kingdom, with the pair agreeing in principle to a trade relationship without the imposition of tariffs.
“I think we could very well end up with a real trade deal where the tariffs wouldn’t be necessary”, Trump said in a press conference following the talks.
However, no formal agreement has been reached. The two nations still face “hard yards” in terms of trade negotiations, UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting said on BBC Breakfast.
Still, UK markets were buoyed by the prospect of avoiding hefty tariffs like the ones set to be imposed on Canada and Mexico in March. Notably, the FTSE 100 was up 0.6% by the closing bell on Thursday, and remained steadily in the black throughout Friday.
Conversely, stocks in continental Europe suffered amid widespread fears that the European Union will soon be hit with Trump’s tariffs, including 25% on goods, steel, and aluminum. Germany’s DAX, for instance, fell 0.2%, and Paris’ CAC 40 flatlined.
A good day for U.S. stocks
But things across the pond looked somewhat more positive, with the major indexes all recovering from selloffs seen earlier in the week.
The release of key inflation data was the main catalyst for the rise, with annual “core” personal consumption expenditures cooling to 2.6%.
However, consumer spending fell 0.2% in January, falling far short of economist forecasts of a 0.1% rise, and compared with an 0.8% uptick in December.
The figures could be a sign of Americans dialing back their spending due to anxiety around tariffs and the potential price hikes that could follow.
Following Thursday’s release of the data, the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5%, 0.6%, and 0.2%, respectively.
