Trump slaps 30% tariffs on EU, Mexico
- FTSE 100 falls 8 points to 8,241
- Early losses trimmed on reports China open to US tariff talks
- Bunzl (LON:BNZL) leads blue-chip fallers after profit warning
- UK inflation eases, though some measures remain stubbornly high
- Gold hits new all-time high above $3,300
- California sues Trump over tariffs, questioning his authority
4.03pm: FTSE almost back to parity
The FTSE 100 deficit for the day, which was over 80 points earlier, is now down to around eight as we enter the final half hour.
Early losses were trimmed on reports that China is open to tariff talks with the US.
Distribution giant Bunzl PLC (LSE:BNZL) led the fallers, slumping almsot 27% after a profit warning and suspending its buyback.
Oil heavyweights Shell (LON:SHEL) and BP (LON:BP) did a lot of lifting for the index, as crude prices climbed, while utilities, housebuilders and financials all contributed.
Gold hit a record above $3,300, lifting miners like Endeavour Mining PLC (LON:EDV) (LSE:EDV, (TSX:EDV), OTCQX:EDVMF) and Fresnillo PLC (LSE:LON:FRES).
Meanwhile, UK inflation eased, but sticky core components might keep pressure on the BoE ahead of its meeting on 8 May.
3.22pm: Chinese olive branch not helping the Nasdaq
All but one of the 60 largest companies on the US Nasdaq are now in the red. (Mondelez (NASDAQ:MDLZ) is the green exception.)
The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 are both down 0.3%, while across the Channel the CAC and DAX are down 0.7% and 0.6%.
In London, risers are led by precious metals miner Endeavour and Fresnillo, housebuilders Barratt Redrow (LON:RDW) and Persimmon (LON:PSN).
Oil giants BP and Shell also featuring on the leaderboard is helping cut the overall index deficit.
"It has been another volatile session for markets, with European indices managing to turn flat to slightly firmer, and US index futures managing to claw back from earlier lows, having been rattled initially by a sharp Nvidia-led sell-off overnight," sums up Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index.
He said the market mood found some mild footing on the report that China may be open to renewed talks, provided that President Trump shows a bit more consistency and reins in his more hawkish cabinet members.
"Whether this diplomatic olive branch actually leads anywhere is another matter," says Razaqzada.
Meanwhile, markets "continue to suffer from the White House’s tariff flip-flopping", as Trump launched a fresh probe into critical mineral tariffs, keeping traders on their toes.
"The stop-start nature of US trade policy this month has made long-term positioning something of a fool’s errand, with volatility dominating the landscape."
3.05pm: California sues Trump over tariffs
California governor Gavin Newsom has announced the state has filed a lawsuit to fight President Trump’s tariffs.
Following similar lawsuits filed by smaller interest groups in recent days, America’s richest and most populous state has filed a lawsuit in San Francisco’s federal court, alleging that the White House’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to bypass Congress and impose tariffs is unlawful.
The suit challenging the president’s use of emergency powers to levy tariffs which have rattled stock markets and raised fears of recession.
"President Trump’s unlawful tariffs are wreaking chaos on California families, businesses and our economy, driving up prices and threatening jobs," Newsom said.
"We’re standing up for American families who can’t afford to let the chaos continue."
2.50pm: Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and ASML (AS:ASML) lead Nasdaq lower
Wall Street has opened in the red, led by the tech giants of the Nasda, with the index tumbling 2.1%.
The Dow Jones has fallen 0.6%, the S&P 500 has lurched 1.3% lower.
Nvidia and ASML, which reported earnings, are leading the Nasdaq 100 fallers, down close to 6%, with Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) close behind.
Applovin Corp and Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ:AMAT) are also down over 4%.
2.25pm: US retail sales were up but industrial production down even pre 2 April tariff announcement
US futures remain in the red as retail sales figures emerge. Sales were up 1.4% in March, after a slight gain in February and an outright decline in January.
Separate data showed US industrial production also fell by 0.3% in March, slightly weaker than the consensus forecast of -0.2%. Manufacturing rose by 0.3%, slightly stronger than the consensus estimate of +0.2%.
Since December, nominal retail sales (not adjusted for inflation) rose 0.6% throughout the first quarter of this year. Adjusting for inflation, retail sales decreased slightly over the last three months, indicating economic growth downshifted in Q1.
Appetite for restaurant spending returned with a vengeance in March, rising almost 2% in March.
Bottom line on the retail sales, says Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial, "Growth in Q1 downshifted significantly as consumers and businesses pulled back the pace of spending.
"If the economy can hold on long enough during this period of tariff uncertainty, we could see some relief when the Fed eventually loosens monetary policy."
On industrial production, Oliver Allen at Pantheon Macroeconomics says: "We so far have little data to appraise the likely hit to manufacturing in early Q2 due to the tariffs. But even before April 2, the new orders index of the ISM manufacturing PMI already had slumped... and a significant decline in output seems inevitable in the short term.
"Many intermediate inputs - roughly a third of which are imported - have become either much more expensive or effectively unavailable, China now is effectively closed to US exports, and consumers will likely respond to higher prices for manufactured goods by slashing their purchases.
"The intense uncertainty around whether and for how long these tariffs last probably will also lead to a freeze in spending on capital goods.
"The deep contradiction between President Trump’s goal of rebuilding US manufacturing while also making life far more difficult for most manufacturers suggests that the current tariff regime is unlikely to last in the long term.
"But when it might be abandoned, and how much damage will be done in the meantime, is unknowable."
2pm: EY Post Office audits probed
Accountancy giant EY is being investigated by the UK accounting regulator over its audits of the Post Office related to the Horizon scandal that led to hundreds of sub-post masters being prosecuted on the basis of faulty data.
More than 900 sub post masters were prosecuted for theft or fraud between 1999 and 2015 based on incorrect data from the Horizon IT system.
The Financial Reporting Council said it will check whether EY met its standards "with particular reference to matters related to the Horizon IT system".
EY says it will be "fully cooperating" with the FRC.
12.53pm: Could Bunzl buyback pause spark more of the same?
Bunzl shares are down 25% with a "weaker start than expected", says UBS, putting it mildly after the blue-chip distributor pulled its trading forward a week early to warn of challenging conditions in North America, and terminated its share buyback programme,
The new guidance implies 7-10% consensus downgrades, the Swiss bank says, after
Underlying organic revenue falling 0.9% in the first quarter compares to consensus expectations for 0.5-1.0% growth.
"This slowdown has largely been driven by volume weakness in North America, which management believes are due to some execution issues in a market with increasing uncertainty," UBS said.
While the updated guidance "could imply" 10% cuts to consensus profit forecasts, the bank’s analysts highlight that management said any tariff-related impact on inflation/growth is excluded from this guidance.
Bunzl shares have been "relatively resilient" this month but were down 15% since December, before today’s falls. "We would see risks that shares de-rate further however on margin downgrades, especially heading into broader macro uncertainty (which is evolving rapidly; we published our own scenarios recently)," UBS said.
A profit warning and termination of a share buyback programme is the first such halt by any FTSE 100 firm since the pandemic, notes AJ Bell (LON:AJBA) investment director Russ Mould.
A "pause", as the company said, of this year’s share buyback, may cause some investors to worry if others companies may follow suit.
"Whether this is a warning that the buyback boom is about to come to an end remains to be seen," says Mould, given the economic uncertainty that prevails in the face of President Trump’s trade and tariff policies.
12.02pm: Russia requests Boeings in trade deal
A cheeky request from Moscow after China cancels its Boeing (NYSE:BA) order.
Wire reports come in that Russia "asks to buy Boeing jets with frozen assets in US talks".
Shares in the US aircraft maker are down 0.8% premarket.
11.47am: Stocks off earlier lows, Trump prepares for Japan trade talks
The FTSE and other European benchmarks are all well off earlier lows, boosted by signs of possible conciliatory moves from China.
US stock futures are in the red, though, led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
President Trump is awake and messaging on social media about Japan "coming in today to negotiate on tariffs, the cost of military support, and ’trade fairness’."
He adds: "I will attend the meeting, along with Treasury & Commerce Secretaries. Hopefully something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan and the USA!"
London’s blue-chip index is down 0.35%, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 is down 0.6%, both off deficits of around 0.8% earlier in the morning.
Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC are down 0.5% and 0.6%, compared to earlier falls of 1.3% and 1.2%. Fallers include chemicals giant Brenntag, Siemens (ETR:SIEGn) Energy, Merck (NSE:PROR), Porsche (ETR:P911_p) and Adidas (ETR:ADSGN) in Frankfurt, with Publicis, Stellantis (LON:0QXR) and Michelin (EPA:MICP) in Paris.
Across the pond, Nasdaq 100 futures are down 1.4%, with those for the S&P 500 0.8% lower, while Dow Jones futures are sitting 0.2% in the red.
10.43am: Official house price data
UK house prices in February remained the same as the previous month, rising by 5.4% year-on-year, according to the official house price data from ONS Land Registry.
The average price of a property in the UK was £268,000 in February, £13,000 higher than 12 months ago.
House prices in England rose 5.3% year-on-year, though the average price paid for a home fell month-on-month in both London and the South East. Wales prices were up 4.1% on the year, Scotland 5.7% and Norn Iron 9.0%.
January’s annual growth rate was revised to 4.8%.
"Several parts of the country are seeing a post-Stamp Duty hangover," says Jonathan Hopper, CEO of Garrington Property Finders.
“While month-on-month figures can be volatile, this recalibration of prices could be the result of the market cooling as the distorting effect of the Stamp Duty increase started to fall away.
"Some buyers offered high in order to get their purchases through before the March deadline."
Average prices paid in London fell by 1.1% in February versus January, and after flatlining in 2024, annual growth in the capital is still modest.
"On the front-line we’re seeing lots of high-value homes coming onto the market - especially in London’s highly sought-after, prime postcodes - and this abundance is putting buyers firmly in the driving seat and giving them the confidence and clout to negotiate hard on price," Hopper said.
“The supply of homes for sale is healthy, especially at the top end of the market, and with mortgage swap rates currently suggesting interest rates will be cut three times this year, the combination of a wide choice of homes and cheaper mortgages will make home ownership more attractive and affordable."
Emma Cox, MD of Real Estate at lender Shawbrook, said that while the Government has "doubled down" on its pledge to deliver 1.5 million new homes "economic uncertainty and affordability challenges still pose hurdles for both buyers and professional landlords".
She says professional landlords, Shawbrook’s main customers, "will look to cater for rising rental demand, which is still underserved by quality stock, and many will turn to different, higher-yielding property types such as HMOs and semi-commercial properties to ensure they remain profitable and agile in the face of any challenges".
10.20am: China’s demands on Trump for talks
The Bloomberg story leads that China "wants to see a number of steps" from the Trump’s administration before it will agree to trade talks.
This includes "showing more respect by reining in disparaging remarks by members of his cabinet", with the report citing a "person familiar with the Chinese government’s thinking".
Beijing’s other conditions include a "more consistent US position" and "a willingness to address China’s concerns" around US sanctions and Taiwan.
Not sure how likely Trump is to go along with any of that, to be honest.
10.06am: China ’open to talks’
China is "open to talks if Trump shows respect", Bloomberg has reported.
Beijing wants the US President to "reign in" his cabinet ministers, the report said.
The FTSE cut its losses to just 18 points after this news filtered through, but is slipping again.
???????????????? #China Open to Talks If US Shows Respect, Names Point Person - Bloomberghttps://t.co/iAI8mInzDo— Christophe Barraud???????? (@C_Barraud) April 16, 2025
9.33am: A contrarian view
"Never bet against the US. That was what my old man always said," says market analyst Neil Wilson at Tip Ranks.
He offers what he calls a contrarian view: "no recession but instead a boom – tariffs can give a huge opportunity to entrepreneurial, nimbler US companies to compete with more expensive foreign goods, which can deliver a huge boost to US growth.
"It’s not a popular view, but it was one suggested by Interactive Brokers founder and chairman Thomas Petterfy, who says the US is heading to a ’boom not a recession’."
Wilson says this would "probably require the Fed to step in at some point sooner rather than later", with some accounts suggesting the US may already be in recession.
Interactive Brokers reported record net revenues and profit in the first quarter, boosted by 32% growth in total accounts as Petterfy said people were opening accounts and buying "more than they sold", with the same story in Trump’s ’liberation day’.
United Airlines also reported, warning that a recession could drive down its adjusted annual earnings to $7 to $9 a share from its currently projected $11.50 to $13.50, with the outlook dependent on the macro environment which the company "believes is impossible to predict this year with any degree of confidence".
European stock declines this morning are "reflecting a touch more risk aversion", says Wilson.
The US dollar is continuing to dwindle since last night on the semiconductor news affecting Nvidia, which Wilson noted has also pushed shorter-dated Treasury yields lower, but gold is rallying.
Sterling is up 0.4% to $1.3278.
9.13am: FTSE falling as US-exposed names retreat, gold climbs to new record
After just over an hour of trading, the FTSE 100 is down 0.75%, giving up over a third of its gains from yesterday.
Apart from Bunzl’s big fall sparked by its profit warning, next in line are Intermediate Capital (LON:ICGIN) and JD Sports, two companies that have often been big movers on ’tariff news’ days, both down close to 4% this morning.
Investment trusts Polar Capital Technology (LON:PCT) and Scottish Mortgage (LON:SMT), which have big US (and Chinese) tech holdings, are also down almost 3%, while US-focused Ashtead (LON:AHT) and US-exposed Diploma (LON:DPLM), Informa (LON:INF) and Rentokil Initial (LON:RTO) are also making up most of the top 10 fallers.
Miners Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) and Anglo American (LON:AAL) are both thereabouts too, with copper prices down.
Crude oil prices are a little lower, with Brent remaining in a channel around $64 this week so far.
Top of the leaderboard are precious metals miners Endeavour Mining PLC (LSE:EDV, (TSX:EDV), OTCQX:EDVMF) and Fresnillo PLC (LSE:FRES), up 5.1% and 2.2%, as gold continues to climb, rising 2% to top $3,314 this morning.
They are followed by Barratt Redrow PLC (LSE:BTRW), and a group of utilities, including water company Severn Trent (LON:SVT), British Gas owner Centrica (LON:CNA) and National Grid (LON:NG).
8.41am: Barratt and WH Smith (LON:SMWH) analyst views
Barratt Redrow shares are up 1.4%.
Analysts at Stifel called the update a "solid" one as mortgages become more available.
The reported sales rate of 0.62 for Q3, is 2% ahead of the prior year, but "implies that March was marginally slower year-on-year, but March was a strong month last year, and it is likely the group pushed a little harder for price this year".
With the full-year outlook maintained, Stifel is "encouraged by the first view of cost inflation" for the 2026 financial year, at only 1-2%, while reports on the wider housing market suggest mortgage availability is improving.
Peel Hunt (LON:PEEL)’s Clyde Lewis (JO:LEWJ) calls it a "steady as she goes" statement, added: "we see no reason to change our forecasts at this stage and continue to watch the moves on mortgage rates closely as we believe this is a key swing factor for demand in the next 12-18 months, along with any possible new government policy changes (eg a new help-to-buy product)."
WH Smith shares fell at the open, then rose over 1% and are moving lower again as investors work out if the interims were good, bad or just OK.
Lewis’s Peel Hunt workmate, Jonathan Pritchard views the results "as solid", with a PBT of £45 million compared to his estimate of £43 million as Travel leads the way and High Street remains lacklustre.
"There are more airport wins to celebrate, but the key here for us is the mood music on current trading."
He notes passenger numbers have steadied, but spend per customer is up.
8.30am: Bank of England decision ’on a knife edge’
Some thoughts on the UK CPI reading earlier.
Monica George Michail from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, says: "In the coming months, increased public spending and persistent wage growth is likely to drive inflation upwards, although the recent fall in oil prices will exert some downward pressure.
"Nevertheless, we forecast CPI inflation to remain above the Bank of England’s 2% target for the rest of 2025, with the Bank’s decision to further cut rates more than once this year on a knife edge."
Nathaniel Casey, investment strategist at Evelyn Partners, says: "Despite the lower-than-expected annual reading for March, the UK continues to face stickier inflationary pressures compared with other advanced economies. This has been reflected in the bond market, with gilt yields remaining significantly higher than their European counterparts such as German bunds, even as both markets face a similarly weak growth profile.
He notes that President Trump’s tariffs also bring further inflation concerns if they do persist at a rate of 10% for the UK.
"While the BoE is yet to deliver an interest rate cut this year, we expect the growth risks will outweigh the inflation concerns and the bank will soon cautiously resume their cutting cycle," Casey added.
Markets are currently expecting the next rate cut to be delivered at the next meeting, on 8 May.
Rob Wood at Pantheon Macroeconomics says: "Cutting through the noise, the MPC’s latest measure of underlying services inflation, excluding indexed and volatile components, rents and foreign holidays, rose 4.5% year-over-year, the same as in February and by 4.6% three-months-on-three-months annualised, up from 4.1% in February. So underlying inflation pressure remains stubborn."
He adds: "But the MPC has to set policy based on the balance of risks in the medium term as well as the central case. ‘Liberation Day’ has created a much worse worst-case growth scenario than the MPC had to contend with before.
"Accordingly, the MPC can afford an extra precautionary rate cut this year, so we look for three more reductions in 2025, compared to two before Mr Trump’s interventions."
"It’s a finely balanced call," he says, "highly sensitive to President Trump’s actions, the dataflow and the MPC’s comments", as he looks for back-to-back 25bps cuts in May and June, with another cut in November.
8.15am: FTSE falls slightly at open
The FTSE 100 stumbled rather than tumbled in Wednesday’s opening trades, down 14 points to 8,234.9.
Distributor Bunzl PLC (LSE:BNZL) is a big faller, down 23% after reporting a "significant" fall in profit in the first quarter and cutting its guidance for the year.
This is on the back of what it says are "operational challenges faced by our largest business in North America, and the implications on the remainder of the year from a more challenging start for the group".
Elsewhere, miners, tech funds and banks are among the bigger fallers.
7.58am: Barratt Redrow ups cost ’synergy’ target as integration nears completion
Barratt Redrow PLC (LSE:BTRW) has reported a solid trading performance for the 13 weeks to end-March, with 3,717 home completions in the period to bringing the year-to-date figure to 10,563.
The housebuilder said it remains on track to deliver between 16,800 and 17,200 total completions in the full year, including about 600 from JVs.
Net private reservations, excluding bulk sales, increased 1.6% to 0.62. Including PRS and MUS, the rate fell by 3.1% to 0.63.
The integration of Redrow is "nearing completion", with nine divisional office closures completed or underway, and the cost synergy target has been raised to £100 million.
Forward sales stood at £3.1 billion across 10,245 homes, with the private home order book valued at £2.24 billion, up 3.3% on the prior year despite a 3.5% fall in volume.
7.43am: Latest on tariffs, Nvidia, Boeing
The falls in stock markets in the US overnight and Asia today reflect tensions between the US and China showing signs of further escalation.
"Concerns about further trade restrictions came on several fronts yesterday," says Henry Allen, macro strategist at Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn).
As mentioned below, the Trump administration placed new restrictions on the export of Nvidia’s H20 chips to China, which had actually been designed to comply with earlier US export restrictions. As a result, Nvidia said it will report $5.5bn in write downs due to the new rules.
"Meanwhile, in another sign that the US-China trade war moving beyond tariffs, Bloomberg reported earlier yesterday that China ordered its airlines to halt any deliveries of Boeing jets and purchases of US aircraft equipment.
"So while there had been optimism after the weekend news on tariff exemptions for electronics, there’s been no sign since of either the US or China backing down and yesterday the White House commented that ’The ball is in China’s court. China needs to make a deal with us. We don’t have to make a deal with them’."
Elsewhere, Allen says, was also "little sign" of Washigton coming to an agreement with Brussels, with newswires reporting no real progress on EU-US trade negotiations.
Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s trade chief, left the talks struggling to determine what the US was aiming for, and also that US officials indicated the tariffs would not be removed outright.
"So again, this pushed back on the more positive narrative around the weekend, which was generally in the direction of more exemptions on the tariffs (e.g. smartphones) and lots of discussions with trading partners," says Allen, also noting that US Treasury yields fell back yesterday.
7.39am: WH Smith interim results
In company news, WH Smith PLC (LSE:SMWH) has posted interim results showing a slight slowing in sales growth for its core ongoing business, as it prepares to part ways with its High Street arm.
The Travel division, with shops situated in airports and train stations, grew revenue 6% in the six months to end-February, down from the 7% growth seen in its first-quarter update.
While group profit before tax and non-underlying items fell to £45 million from £46 million a year earlier, Travel trading profits rose 12% to £56 million.
CEO Carl Cowling said the second half has started well and the group is "on track" for market expectations, adding that amid worries about geopolitics and economic uncertainty, "we are well-positioned to benefit from the growth opportunities in global travel retail".
7.25am: Inflation positives for Bank of England
The headline UK inflation readings were better than expected, and so was the news on some of the finer details that the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee is focusing on ahead of its next meeting in early May.
So, to run through the headlines numbers again for completeness, the UK consumer price index eased to 0.3% month on month growth in March, from 0.4% the previous month.
This meant CPI rose 2.6% year-on-year, which was down from 2.8% the prior month and below the 2.7% consensus forecast.
Core CPI, which excludes more volatile prices such as fuel and food, also softened to 3.4% from 3.5%, which was expected. On a monthly basis, core CPI was up 0.3%, a big drop from 0.6% in February.
Services sector CPI, a key BoE reading, came in at 4.7%, down from 5.0% previously and below the 4.8% consensus.
7.15am: FTSE to fall despite good inflation news
The FTSE 100 has been called around 50 points lower on the futures market ahead of the open on Wednesday, as less encouraging tariff news swamps a lower UK inflation number.
UK consumer price inflation eased to 0.3% month on month in March, from 0.4% the previous month, with the consumer price index up 2.6% year-on-year, which was down from 2.8% the prior month and below the 2.7% consensus forecast. More details in a minute.
On Wall Street overnight, stocks were in reverse again, with the Dow Jones dropping 0.4%, the S&P 500 losing 0.2% and the Nasdaq just below flat.
And Asian markets are more heavily in the red this morning, with Japan’s Nikkei down 1.5% and the Hang Seng tumbling 2.5% in Hong Kong, though India’s Sensex is just below flat.
What went wrong? As market analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya at Swissquote Bank says, the first issue was that US and EU trade talks made little progress, meaning 20% tariffs remain for both sides.
China has also continued to hold back from initiating tariff negotiations with President Trump, with Beijing also announcing that they will not buy Boeing planes - "we are talking 29 planes that China decides not to buy" - then Washington responding by restricting the export of Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are specifically designed for China.
Nvidia also warned that it will report $5.5 billion in writedowns during this quarter, with Bloomberg estimating a total revenue miss for the company could be $14-18 billion for the year, which sent Nvidia down over 6% in afterhours trading.
5am: What to watch on Wednesday
On the penultimate day of this holiday-shortened week, an update from housebuilder Barratt Redrow PLC (LSE:BTRW) will be watched for comments on how trading is going, though interest and mortgage rates might be a more powerful influence on how the sector performs in the coming months...read more
UK and European inflation numbers are among the day’s macroeconomic highlights, with a Bank of Canada interest rate decision also due.
The UK consumer prices index has shown little signs of slowing in the past few months, which has been a blow to those wanting the Bank of England to cut the base rate.
"The problem the central bank has is that even though they have reduced the cost of borrowing on 3 occasions since August last year, by a total of 75bps these reductions haven’t been reflected in the gilt market," says analyst Michael Hewson at MCH Market Insights.
Headline CPI has risen from 1.7% last October to 3% in January before slipping to 2.8% in February.
"While this was welcome, the slowdown in headline inflation masked the fact that core CPI inflation remains well above 2% at 3.5% and services inflation is even higher at 5%," says Hewson.
"By the Bank of England’s own estimates, it expects headline inflation to move as high as 3.7% this year before sliding back, while some independent economists expect prices to peak even higher at 5%."
"With the threat of tariffs also expected to exert upward pressure on prices the central bank is likely to find itself in a bind," he said, though adding that recent falls in oil prices should provide some relief in the short term.
Announcements due:
Trading updates: Barratt Redrow, BHP Group (LON:BHPB), DiscoverIE Group, Hays (LON:HAYS), Hunting (LON:HTG)
Interims: WH Smith
Finals: M Winkworth
Overseas earnings: Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), ASML, Heineken (AS:HEIN), Prologis (NYSE:PLD), US Bancorp (NYSE:USB) (all pre-market)
AGMs: British American Tobacco (LON:BATS), Hunting
Economic announcements: CPI, RPI and PPI inflation (UK), CPI inflation and Current Account (both EU), MBA Mortgage Applications, Retail Sales, Industrial Production, Crude Oil Inventories, NAHB Housing Markets (all US), Interest Rate Decision (CAN), GDP, Industrial Production, Retail Sales (all CHN)