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The FTSE 100 initially declined on Monday as renewed concerns over global trade tensions weighed on market sentiment before recovering late in the day. This followed U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of plans to double tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from 25% to 50%, revealed late Friday. The European Union warned of potential retaliatory measures in response to the tariff hike. Meanwhile, U.S.-China trade relations appeared to deteriorate further, with Trump accusing Beijing of violating a bilateral agreement to lower tariffs. China dismissed these claims as "groundless" on Monday and vowed to take decisive action to protect its interests; however, market jitters were soothed by White House sources suggesting a direct call between Trump and Xii to take place later this week. On the economic front, British manufacturing showed a smaller-than-expected decline in May, according to S&P Global UK manufacturing PMI data released Monday. However, key indicators such as production, orders, and employment continued to weaken. In contrast, house prices saw a notable 3.5% year-on-year rise in May, as reported by mortgage lender Nationwide in its latest monthly data.

Single Stock Stories & Broker Updates:

• UK defence sub-index rises 1.8% to 17,826.4p, an all-time high. Britain is to publish results of a 10-month defence review, expected to include six new munitions plants and procurement of 7,000 long-range weapons. Babcock International shares up 7.6%, BAE Systems up 1.8%, Rolls-Royce up 0.2%. BAB shares reached an over 8-year high at 1,008p; BAES and RR hit record highs at 1,943p and 879.6p, respectively. Index up ~54% year-to-date.

• NatWest has returned to full private ownership after a £45 billion state rescue during the 2008 financial crisis. HSBC plans to invest $4 billion into its private credit funds, responding to pressures on traditional lending profits.

• Indivior will cancel its secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange effective July 25, keeping its primary Nasdaq listing to reduce costs and align with its U.S. business.

• The energy sub-index rose by 1.2% due to higher oil prices, as the producer group OPEC+ maintained the same output increase for July as it did in June, providing relief to those anticipating a larger hike.

Technical & Trade View

FTSE Bias: Bullish Above Bearish below 8700

• Primary support 8500
• Below 8500 opens 8250
• Primary objective 8900
• Daily VWAP Bullish
• Weekly VWAP Bullish

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