FTSE 100 Live: London stocks drowsy and Wall Street's Nvidia boost ebbs

• FTSE 100 loses 10 points on the day
• Stocks gains limited by rising bond yields 
• Auto Trader slides sharply lower as results disappoint  

4.59pm: FTSE closes below flatline

The FTSE 100 slipped 10 points on Wednesday to close at 8,716, marking a modest 0.1% decline as investors remained cautious amid mixed global economic signals and ongoing inflation concerns.

4.10pm: FTSE flat

The FTSE 100 is almost perfectly flat as we enter the last half hour of trading in Thursday's European session. 

A double-digit fall for Auto Trader and declines a large group of blue-chip shares going ex-dividend: National Grid (6.25 points), Severn Trent (0.91), Coca-Cola HBC AG (0.82), Informa (0.74), Intertek Group (0.66), Sage Group (0.30), Associated British Foods (0.28), LondonMetric Property (0.27), Marks and Spencer Group (0.22), Alliance Witan (0.12), Diploma (0.10).

"For the FTSE 100 and other European markets, today has been a case of selling the news," says Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG.

"Indices on the continent have struggled to make headway today, but given the size of the rally in recent weeks and the looming month-end it is perhaps not surprising to see the move take a breather."

Gains in New York have ebbed too, with the Nasdaq's gain having more than halved to 0.5%. 

2.43pm: Tech boost lifts Wall Street

And we're off. And, as expected, we saw a strong start in the tech sector after Nvidia's results after hours, with the Nasdaq opening 1.3% higher at 19,348.

The 'old economy' Dow Jones was in a more subdued mood, though still marginally in the green at 42,149.19, as investors digested the US court challenge to Donald Trump's trade tariffs.

None of this helped the mood in the Square Mile with earlier gains wiped out.

2.24pm: White House plays down illegal tariff ruling

White House trade advisor Peter Navarro said the Trump administration has a “strong case” in its appeal against the Court of International Trade’s decision.

He said the White House has a “number of different options on trade”.

He said there was “no question” that there was an economic emergency to justify the legislation that Trump used to bypass Congress.

“Nothing has really changed,” Navarro said. “Trade deals are going to happen” anyway.

Trump adviser Kevin Hassett has added some details on those, saying that three trade pacts are nearly finalized and more are coming.

He called the decision a “hiccup”.

2.06pm: US GDP fell less than first estimate

The US economy contracted in the first three months of 2025, but by less than the first estimate, the latest official data showed.

Gross domestic product fell 0.2% in the first quarter compared to a year ago, compared to the initial reading of a 0.3% decline, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said.

Either way, it was a big slowdown from the 2.4% growth in real GDP in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The BEA said the decrease in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected an increase in imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, and a decrease in government spending, partly offset by increases in investment, consumer spending and exports.

1.53pm: Ride out the storm

A quarter of investors have sold at a loss in the past 12 months, mainly out of a fear that their shares would fall further, but also as cash was need for emergencies or a specific life event. 

The research was sponsored by Alliance-Witan, which highlighted that while economic unrest can induce investors to make poorly-timed decisions, "research shows it has historically been more fruitful to stay invested than make any reactive moves".

Almost a quarter (24%) of the 1,000 investors with portfolios of at least £10,000 surveyed said they had sold at a loss in the past 12 months, though only 9% admitted to doing so in the tumultuous past six months. 

Out of that 240 or so investors who had sold at a loss, 36% were worried that the investment performance would fall further, while 29% said they needed the cash for an emergency and 20% for a holiday a new car or other spending. 

Previous research from Alliance Witan found that investors who stayed invested could have built a "patience pot" worth as much as £192K over a 30 year period just by holding their nerve.

Mark Atkinson at Alliance Witan's investment manager, WTW, sisd: “Selling an investment at a lower value than it was bought can sometimes be unavoidable, but knee-jerk decisions based on short-term market volatility can backfire on returns."

He added: "The most important action an investor can take is to ride out the storm, keeping their investments in place."

1pm: US futures lose some froth, FTSE battles higher

Wall Street stocks are expected to start higher on Thursday, boosted by strong results from Nvidia overnight but with the market weighing the likely fall-out from a US court declaring that President Trump's tariffs illegal. 

Dow Jones futures were pointing to a 0.3% gain with under an hour and a half before the opening bell, having been up 1.4% a couple of hours earlier.

Similarly, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were up 0.8% and 1.3%, compared to gains above 1.3% and 1.7% in the early hours. 

The FTSE 100 has battled its way back into positive territory now. 

11.53am: HL boss leaves

Hargreaves Lansdown chief executive Dan Olley is leaving the investment broker after less than two years in the top job, after the platform was taken private last year.

Independent non-executive director Richard Flint has been appointed as interim chief executive, while Olley is staying around for a three-month handover period.

HL shareholders last year agreed to a £5.4 billion takeover by a consortium of private equity firms, CVC, Nordic Capital and Platinum Ivy. 

10.50am: Why a muted market reaction to court's Trump tariff call 

Various thoughts on why the market reaction has been muted this morning.

Following the US Court of International Trade ruling, while a "pretty seismic development", market gains have been "measured rather than blockbuster", observes AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

He says this "reflects a healthy level of scepticism over whether this can truly rein in the Trump administration, which has already launched an appeal against the judgement".

Furthermor, it is likely to prolong uncertainty even if it does result in a better outcome from a market perspective and "exacerbates the issue of how the big tax cuts being brought forward in the US will be funded – given revenue from tariffs was supposed to help on this front"

Barclays economists agreed, saying this moment is a “period of 4-8 weeks when tariff policy is stuck in limbo”.

With the Trump administration having already appealed, ultimately is is "likely to go to an appellate court and then very likely to the Supreme Court”, where six of the nine justices are Republican appointees.

Joachim Klement at Panmure Liberum brings some Greek drama to the table calling the court decision a ‘deus ex machina’ often seen as bringing drama to Greek tragedies, but he is also sceptical that this will provide permanent relief. 

He predicts the legal trek to the Supreme Court will see the decision potentially buckling “under the Unitary Executive Theory of constitutional law”, which asserts the US President holds all executive authority of the state.

And there’s a Plan B waiting in the wings, he says, that Trump could simply reimpose the same tariffs under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act.

9.42am: Deeper dive into Nvidia earnings 

After Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, ETR:NVD) reported earnings last night, we've done a bit of an explainer, digging into the details and what they mean for investors.

This seems to suggest that the chipmaker isn’t just growing quickly, it’s doing so in a way that’s highly profitable, which matters a lot to long-term investors.

9.19am: FTSE slips into the red

London's blue-chip index has now slipped into the red, a bit of a turnaround from the expected bullishness in the futures market after the US trade court decision in the early hours. 

Only around a third of the FTSE is in the red, however, with Auto Trader down 13%, utilities National Grid and Severn Trent both down over 3% and a random mix of RELX, Phoenix Group, Rightmove, Coca-Cola HBC and Marks & Spencer also all down over 2%.

Among the index's larger names, banking and oil giants are up, with HSBC and Barclays both rising over 1%, while Shell and BP are not quite at that level.

Across on the Continent, the DAX is up 0.6% in Frankfurt and the CAC is up 0.8% in Paris, with names like Infineon, Adidas, Daimler, Airbus, Stellantis and Kering all among the risers. 

The potential roll-back on US tariffs has provided some support to oil, with Brent crude prices up 1.3% at around $65.8 per barrel.

"The prospect of fresh sanctions on Russian exports has also helped to reduce concerns of oversupply," says Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown. He says weekly US oil inventory figures are key numbers to watch out for today.

After the US Court of International Trade ruled President Trump's tariffs illegal, Nathan says: "But in this rapidly evolving landscape the latest development is unlikely to be the last twist in the tale, and the administration has already lodged an appeal. The world will be watching closely as the United States legal system seeks to hold its highest office to account."

US financial media is already talking about potential alternative avenues for other levies that would not be blocked by the court.

8.43am: FTSE leaderboard reflects tariff ruling

Retailer JD Sports Fashion, aerospace supplier Melrose Industries and British Airways owner IAG – three stocks that seem to have been moving most on 'tariffs news' days in recent weeks – are topping the FTSE leaderboard this morning, up 2.6%, 2.4% and 1.9% respectively. 

Ashtead Group, another company with a major focus on the US, is up 1.8%, while Polar Capital Technology Trust is up 1.5% as its biggest holding is in Nvidia, where premarket indications are pointing to almost a 5% gain today. 

8.25am: Latest on bond markets

A quick explanation of why stocks are being hit by the bond market, from Jim Reid, macro strategist at Deutsche Bank. 

He says one of the main stories yesterday was "on the rates side", as bonds came under fresh pressure on both sides of the Atlantic.

A weak Japanese auction for 40-year government debt at the start of the week was the "main catalyst", he says, which carried over into the European and US sessions.

After the US 30yr Treasury yield climbed back above 5% before closing just shy of that.

US Treasury yields were higher across the curve yesterday, Reid notes, which has continued overnight.

"That rise in yields has come as markets continue to dial back their expectations for Fed rate cuts," he explains, with just 44 basis points of cuts now expected by December, ie less than two 0.25% cuts, which is the least since February.

In Europe, he says sovereign bond yields moved higher yesterday "amidst growing concern about inflation", not helped by higher oil prices and the ECB’s latest survey of consumer expectations, which found that one-year inflation expectations were up to 3.1% in April, the highest in 14 months.

"So that added to fears that inflation could remain sticky above the ECB’s target, particularly with their next policy decision coming up in just a week. All that meant yields rose across the continent," Reid says. 

"Yet despite the risk-off tone elsewhere, sovereign bond spreads tightened further, with the 10yr Italian spread over bunds down to just 98bps, the tightest since September 2021. Nevertheless, UK gilts continued to struggle, with the 10yr yield (+6.1bps) seeing a larger increase in yields to 4.73%.

"With yields moving higher again, that meant it was a difficult backdrop for equities, which struggled on both sides of the Atlantic."

8.14am: FTSE 100 starts higher but with handbrake on

The FTSE 100 jumped to a 40-point gain at the start but now has also got the handbrake on, up just 13 points at 8,739.

A 10% slide for Auto Trader is one of the issues dragging on the index. 

Utilities and other bond-sensitive shares are down too, with National Grid, Severn Trent, Phoenix Group all down at least 2%.

Government bond yields rose in Europe and the US yesterday and after a dip are on the way higher again this morning. Inflation concerns are being cited by City experts. 

8am: Auto Trader handbrake on

Auto Trader Group PLC (LSE:AUTO) has posted full-year results showing slower growth in retail sales in the second half of its financial year.

The automotive sales platform reported a 5% increase in group revenue to £601.1 million for the year to 31 March 2025, with retailer revenue growth of 5% and average revenue per retailer (ARPR) up 5% to £2,854 per month. 

ARPR rose 6.3% in the first half of the year and retailer revenue at 8% but the outlook at the time was not strong. 

The outlook for the new year is for retailer revenue growth to grow between 5% and 7%.

7.34am: Pension megafunds update

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has given some more details on her plans to reform the pensions sector in order to improve UK economic growth and improve retirement outcomes.

She wants to create 20 or more pension “megafunds”, each managing at least £25 billion by 2030.

These funds will be encouraged to invest more in UK infrastructure, housing and start-ups, with 5% of assets directed into domestic projects.

While the Treasury hopes not to enforce the changes, it announced that it is including a legislative backstop.

Economist Simon French at Panmure Liberum said the government's powers to set binding allocation targets "appears to be being briefed as a backstop to the Mansion House Accord rather than anything new (but as yet no details), whilst the consolidation of DC and LGPS schemes into larger funds are cost, capability, and firepower issues that are rather less contentious."

Martin Willis, partner at consultancy Barnett Waddingham, said: “While scale can bring benefits like investment access, efficiency and improved governance, it’s not a silver bullet.

"Many smaller, well-run own-trust schemes already deliver strong, member-focused outcomes and forcing consolidation risks losing that added value... Bigger isn’t always better – it’s outcomes that matter most."

7.23am: US court decision declares tariffs illegal

Donald Trump's tariffs were declared illegal by the US-based Court of International Trade, in a unanimous decision that found the president had wrongfully invoked emergency laws.

The court said the US Constitution stipulates that only Congress has the authority to regulate commerce with other countries, something the president cannot override with his emergency powers.

A permanent injunction was imposed on the blanket 10% tariff orders issued by Trump in January.

"The court does not pass upon the wisdom or likely effectiveness of the President's use of tariffs as leverage," the panel said in its decision, adding that this use was impermissible as federal law "does not allow it".

The Trump administration immediately appealed the decision. 

7.15am: FTSE heading for higher open

The FTSE 100 is expected to get off to a good start on Thursday after a US trade court said President Donald Trump's tariffs were illegal.

Futures have the London index rising almost 60 points, after it fell 52 to 8,726 yesterday. 

US stocks finished generally lower, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones down 0.6% and the Nasdaq closing 0.5% lower.  

After the close, Nvidia beat revenue expectations by a comfortable margin, at $44.06 billion compared to estimates of $43.2 billion, while earnings per share also beat estimates at $0.96 versus $0.93.  

5am: What to watch on Thursday 29 May

Auto Trader Group PLC (LSE:AUTO) shares have soared since early April, reaching a new all-time high in the week ahead of the company's final results, even if some analysts are cautious due to three "key debates".

Investors will also be chewing over earnings from Nvidia the night before, with hopes having been very high leading into the announcement from the $3.3 trillion chipmaker. 

Among the economic data, the second reading of US gross domestic product is the main item.  

Announcements due:

Trading updates: Atalaya Mining Copper

Interims: Hollywood Bowl Group

Finals: Auto Trader Group, Avacta Group, Braemar, Capital Gearing Trust, Harbourvest Global Private Equity, Helios Underwriting

Overseas earnings: Costco Wholesale, Dell, Foot Locker, Gap, Marvell, MongoDB, Lululemon, UiPath, Zscaler

Economic announcements: GDP (US), Initial Jobless Claims (US), Pending Homes Sales (US)