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Stock prices in London were mixed on Monday morning as US President Donald Trump arrived in Japan, with investors awaiting Thursday’s meeting in South Korea between Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping. The FTSE 100 index opened up 6.04 points, 0.1%, at 9,651.66. The FTSE 250 was down 21.56 points, 0.1%, at 22,507.46, and the AIM All-Share was down 1.30 points, 0.2%, at 775.76. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 964.82, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.1% lower at 19,595.71, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 17,731.78. In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris was flat, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.1% higher. The US and China have agreed a framework for a trade deal before US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet on Thursday. Trump arrived in Japan on Monday, the next leg of an Asia tour that could see the US president and China’s Xi Jinping end their bruising trade war. Speaking on Air Force One, Trump said he was hopeful of a deal when he sees Xi on Thursday in South Korea, while also indicating he was willing to extend his trip in order to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. ‘I have a lot of respect for President Xi and we are going to I think... come away with a deal,’ Trump told reporters en route from Malaysia, where comments from US and Chinese trade negotiators raised hopes of an accord. Dozens of people gathered at Haneda Airport hoping to take photos of Air Force One as it landed. Trump was due in Tokyo in time for an evening audience with Japan’s emperor. On Tuesday, Trump is expected to meet new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and make a speech on the USS George Washington. On a trip to South Korea, Trump will meet Xi for the first time since returning to office. ‘I think we’re going to make a deal,’ he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur, as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng concluded two days of meetings. Bessent said the talks, seeking an agreement to avoid further 100% tariffs due to come into effect on November 1, ‘set the stage for the leaders’ meeting in a very positive framework’. Li Chenggang, China’s vice minister of commerce, told reporters a ‘preliminary consensus’ had been reached. Over the weekend, Trump said he plans to hike tariffs on imports of Canadian goods by an extra 10% because of an anti-tariff television advert aired by the province of Ontario. Sterling was at $1.3330, up from $1.3301 at the London equities close on Friday. The euro was unchanged from Friday at $1.1631. Against the yen, the dollar was slightly lower at JP¥152.77 versus JP¥152.79. In Asia on Monday, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo closed up 2.5%, the Shanghai Composite in China gained 1.2%, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong advanced 1.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed 0.4% higher. In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.0%, the S&P 500 gained 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.2% higher. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury widened to 4.03% on Monday from 4.00% on Friday. The yield on the 30-year was at 4.62%, extended from 4.58% on Friday. In London, GSK was up 1.2% after it bought exclusive rights from drug developer Syndivia for an antibody-drug conjugate in prostate cancer. The rights are to develop and commercialise a preclinical antibody-drug conjugate for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. In preclinical studies, the antibody-drug conjugate was effective at shrinking tumours without causing a ‘proportional increase’ in significant side effects. Under the agreement, Syndivia will receive an upfront payment as well as success-based development and commercial milestone payments up to a total of £268 million. Centrica was down 1.5%, the biggest faller on the FTSE 100 index. The energy provider and owner of British Gas slumped after Citigroup cut its rating to ’neutral’ from ’buy’ with a price target of 185 pence. HSBC was down 0.7% after it said it will recognise a $1.1 billion provision in its third quarter results after a ruling in Luxembourg relating to the Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities fraud. The bank said the Luxembourg Court of Cassation has denied subsidiary HSBC Securities Services Luxembourg’s appeal in respect of Herald Fund’s securities restitution claim, but accepted HSSL’s appeal of Herald’s cash restitution claim. In a 2009 lawsuit relating to the Madoff fraud, HSSL is defending a claim brought by Herald Fund for the restitution of securities and cash. HSSL said it will now pursue a second appeal before the Luxembourg Court of Appeal. If it is unsuccessful in the appeal, it said it will contest the amount it is required to pay. ‘Given the pendency of the second appeal and the complexities and uncertainties associated with determining the quantum of restitution, the eventual financial impact could be significantly different,’ HSBC noted. Goodwin jumped 29% and led the FTSE 250 index. The engineering and manufacturing company said it expects trading pretax profit to double to over £71 million in the financial year to the end of April 2026 from £35.5 million last year. The board said it ‘remains confident’ in the firm’s ability to continue to grow its activity and profitability based on its product quality and ‘strong order book’ which stands at £365 million. The company declared a special one-off interim dividend of 532 pence per share, in addition to the dividend of 140p paid earlier in October and the declared 140p dividend to be paid in April. ‘The board wishes to acknowledge and reward shareholders for their long-term commitment and support of the company’s prior investment programmes that have been integral to achieving these outcomes and in laying the foundations for continued future growth,’ Goodwin said. Greencore was down 2.0% after the UK Competition & Markets Authority said Greencore’s planned acquisition of Bakkavor ‘may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition ’ in the UK. The regulator said it will refer the merger for a probe if no undertaking is offered by next Monday. The Dublin-based convenience food maker said the CMA found no competition concerns in relation to around 99% of the revenue of the combined group. The regulator found that there may be a ‘realistic risk of a competition concern’ in relation to the supply of own label chilled sauces in the UK. ‘Greencore and Bakkavor will continue to work constructively with the CMA to bring these matters to a conclusion, in line with our expectations and original guidance of completion of the transaction in early 2026,’ the firm said. Shares in Bakkavor were down 0.9%. On the AIM index, shares in Conygar Investment jumped 18%. The property developer said it has unconditionally exchanged contracts to sell its 203 acre brownfield land holding at Rhosgoch in Anglesey, Wales to Rhosgoch Property, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stena Line. The sale price is £18.5 million in cash. Conygar said the net proceeds of £18.3 million will be used to fully repay the £5.6 million Ask Partners loan secured against its site in Nottingham. The remaining cash will be used for ongoing operations and working capital, primarily at the Island Quarter site in Nottingham. Bioventix sank 16% on the AIM index as it cut its dividend and reported lower earnings. The London-based biotechnology company said turnover fell 3.6% to £13.1 million in the 12 months to the end of June from £13.6 million a year prior. Pretax profit was down 4.8% to £10.1 million from £10.6 million. The company declared a second interim dividend of 80p per share, down 8.0% from 87p a year ago, to give a total dividend for the year of 150p per share, compared to 155p in financial 2024. ‘This year has been particularly noteworthy as our historic core business has faced some challenges in downstream markets, particularly in China,’ the company noted. Bioventix said it expects a ‘modest decline’ in revenue during the next financial year due to ‘a number of headwinds remaining within the historic core business’. Gold was lower at $4,059.90 an ounce early on Monday from $4,125.47 late Friday. Brent oil was trading lower at $64.77 a barrel from $66.56. The global economic calendar is quiet on Monday at the start of a busy week which includes central bank meetings take place in the US, Canada, Japan and Europe. Third quarter earnings season will also dominate the agenda, with reports from many of the US’s tech heavyweights due later in the week. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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