The Prague Post - London hits record as trade deal hopes fan rally on markets

EUR -
AED 4.291877
AFN 80.86012
ALL 97.598394
AMD 448.394165
ANG 2.091145
AOA 1071.500118
ARS 1470.822999
AUD 1.78063
AWG 2.103271
AZN 1.973932
BAM 1.949775
BBD 2.360804
BDT 142.180622
BGN 1.951359
BHD 0.440471
BIF 3483.73429
BMD 1.168484
BND 1.495279
BOB 8.108941
BRL 6.480646
BSD 1.169187
BTN 100.127578
BWP 15.579854
BYN 3.826375
BYR 22902.287545
BZD 2.348642
CAD 1.598924
CDF 3372.244724
CHF 0.931515
CLF 0.028918
CLP 1109.685633
CNY 8.390007
CNH 8.391135
COP 4701.500773
CRC 589.677731
CUC 1.168484
CUP 30.964828
CVE 109.9253
CZK 24.640989
DJF 208.206584
DKK 7.46132
DOP 70.272837
DZD 151.643807
EGP 57.887753
ERN 17.527261
ETB 161.734695
FJD 2.623483
FKP 0.860195
GBP 0.861751
GEL 3.16645
GGP 0.860195
GHS 12.189332
GIP 0.860195
GMD 83.538408
GNF 10145.647121
GTQ 8.982242
GYD 244.624043
HKD 9.172577
HNL 30.586479
HRK 7.538474
HTG 153.405933
HUF 398.681499
IDR 18979.569712
ILS 3.87318
IMP 0.860195
INR 100.188335
IQD 1531.666723
IRR 49222.390939
ISK 142.800154
JEP 0.860195
JMD 186.852573
JOD 0.828496
JPY 171.093525
KES 151.423705
KGS 102.183881
KHR 4689.508112
KMF 491.931282
KPW 1051.623909
KRW 1604.98325
KWD 0.357334
KYD 0.974389
KZT 606.565543
LAK 25192.149234
LBP 104762.4548
LKR 351.234587
LRD 234.42556
LSL 20.738413
LTL 3.450229
LVL 0.706805
LYD 6.31648
MAD 10.511018
MDL 19.782865
MGA 5164.041671
MKD 61.564202
MMK 2453.292929
MNT 4191.124617
MOP 9.454084
MRU 46.453446
MUR 52.756881
MVR 17.995182
MWK 2027.434662
MXN 21.812291
MYR 4.963133
MZN 74.736756
NAD 20.738413
NGN 1786.600268
NIO 43.027034
NOK 11.79549
NPR 160.203925
NZD 1.944362
OMR 0.449308
PAB 1.169187
PEN 4.143097
PGK 4.906837
PHP 66.076602
PKR 332.644336
PLN 4.252697
PYG 9061.995906
QAR 4.263126
RON 5.081276
RSD 117.131165
RUB 91.039736
RWF 1689.479039
SAR 4.382259
SBD 9.741563
SCR 16.489668
SDG 701.672719
SEK 11.14562
SGD 1.496378
SHP 0.918245
SLE 26.285753
SLL 24502.530745
SOS 668.234968
SRD 43.663936
STD 24185.260849
SVC 10.230385
SYP 15192.548431
SZL 20.743896
THB 38.165045
TJS 11.312242
TMT 4.101379
TND 3.411757
TOP 2.736701
TRY 46.813579
TTD 7.939465
TWD 34.176172
TZS 3073.113303
UAH 48.936672
UGX 4190.051572
USD 1.168484
UYU 47.503202
UZS 14794.281544
VES 132.747147
VND 30514.376943
VUV 139.568249
WST 3.21449
XAF 653.936155
XAG 0.031816
XAU 0.000352
XCD 3.157887
XDR 0.81258
XOF 653.936155
XPF 119.331742
YER 282.597698
ZAR 20.729363
ZMK 10517.750801
ZMW 27.389359
ZWL 376.25139
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

London hits record as trade deal hopes fan rally on markets
London hits record as trade deal hopes fan rally on markets / Photo: Ian Maule - AFP

London hits record as trade deal hopes fan rally on markets

London hit a record high Thursday as equity markets were boosted by optimism governments will hammer out deals to avoid the worst of US President Donald Trump's tariffs even after he broadened his range of measures.

Text size:

Negotiators from around the world have tried to reach agreements with Washington since Trump in April unveiled his "Liberation Day" tariff bombshell, with a July 9 deadline recently pushed back to August 1.

Letters have been sent in recent days to more than 20 trading partners -- including Japan and South Korea -- setting out new tolls, with some higher and some lower than the initial levels.

Trump also said this week he would put a 50 percent tariff on copper imports, while considering a 200 percent charge for pharmaceuticals.

However, analysts said the threats are largely being seen as negotiating tools, and investors have increasingly taken them in their stride, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting all-time highs in New York.

David Chao, global market strategist for Asia Pacific at Invesco, painted a positive picture even in light of the threatened levies.

"Should the US ultimately impose higher tariffs on Asian countries, the region appears better positioned to withstand the resulting headwinds," he wrote.

"A softer dollar should give Asian central banks greater flexibility to ease policy to support their domestic economies without heightened concerns over currency depreciation."

London jumped one percent to a record high at the open, with Frankfurt and Paris also advancing.

In Asia, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei and Jakarta all rose, though Tokyo edged down with Manila, Bangkok and Wellington.

The rallies followed a healthy lead from Wall Street, where the Nasdaq hit another peak thanks to a surge in Nvidia that pushed the firm to a $4 trillion valuation at one point.

The upbeat mood helped push bitcoin above $112,000 for the first time.

There was also little reaction to news that Trump had hit Brazil with a 50 percent tariff as he blasted the trial of the country's ex-president Jair Bolsonaro.

In a letter addressed to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, he called the treatment of his right-wing ally an "international disgrace". Bolsonaro is on trial over accusations he plotted a coup after his 2022 election loss to Lula.

Lula said he will impose reciprocal levies on the United States.

Brazil had not been among those threatened with these higher duties previously, with the United States running a goods trade surplus instead with the South American giant.

Traders were given few guides on the Federal Reserve's interest rate plans after minutes from its June policy meeting showed officials divided on the best way forward.

Boss Jerome Powell's patient approach to lowering borrowing costs has drawn the ire of Trump, who on Wednesday said on social media that they were "AT LEAST 3 Points too high".

While the board sees the president's tariffs as inflationary, the minutes said there remained "considerable uncertainty" on the timing, size and duration of the effects.

Companies might choose not to raise consumer prices until they depleted their product stockpiles, for example, but supply chain disruptions caused by the levies could trigger larger price hikes.

"While a few participants noted that tariffs would lead to a one-time increase in prices and would not affect longer-term inflation expectations, most participants noted the risk that tariffs could have more persistent effects on inflation," the report said.

- Key figures at around 0810 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 39,646.36 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.6 percent at 24,028.37 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,509.68 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 1.0 percent at 8,952.92

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1733 from $1.1719 on Wednesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3610 from $1.3590

Dollar/yen: UP at 146.32 yen from 146.30 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.18 pence from 86.21 pence

West Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $68.39 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $70.26 per barrel

New York - Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 44,458.30 (close)

K.Pokorny--TPP