London’s blue chip share index has tumbled lower following heavy falls in Asia after US President Donald Trump confirmed sweeping import levies on the UK and countries across the world.
The FTSE 100 Index dropped sharply on opening, falling 122.4 points or 1.4% in the first few minutes of trading.
Markets across Asia endured punishing declines overnight, with the Nikkei in Japan down nearly 3% and China’s Hang Seng 1.5% lower after Mr Trump’s self-declared “liberation day” saw him announce hefty tariffs on imports into the US, including a 10% penalty for UK goods.
While the US markets closed higher overnight after volatile trading on Wall Street, pre-market futures trading pointed to sharp declines in Thursday trading, with the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Jones all expected to open lower, dragged lower by retailers and big tech stocks.
Gold hit another new record high amid a flight to safety, while the pound rallied against a weaker dollar, up 0.9% to 1.311 US dollars, but was 0.3% lower at 1.196 euros.