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Banks, commodities and industrials, tech stocks, pharmaceuticals and the medical industry, retail and consumer stocks, real estate stocks, hydrogen stocks, wealth and asset managers, distributors and logistics stocks, discoverIE (DSCV), Resolute Mining (RSG), Speedy Hire (SDY), Ultimate Products (ULTP) and Churchill China (CHH)
US President Donald Trump has followed through with his promises of high tariffs as he renegotiates trade with close partners Mexico and Canada, as well as China.
A 25 per cent levy is now in place for goods coming into the US from the neighbouring countries, while Chinese goods will suffer a 10 per cent tariff. “President Trump is taking bold action to hold Mexico, Canada, and China accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country,” the White House said in a statement.
Trade is not a one-way street, and economists have forecast US growth slowing by 1 percentage point if the tariffs remain in place. They cover around 44 per cent of US imports, according to Deutsche Bank, while Trump has also threatened the EU with tariffs. “For Canada and Mexico, we see this trade shock — if sustained — as being far larger in economic magnitude than that of Brexit on the UK and would expect both countries to enter a recession in coming weeks,” said George Saravelos at Deutsche Bank.
The intertwined nature of trade between the three countries means tariffs will just stop some manufacturing completely – car parts can go across the Canadian border multiple times during production. One-third of US-Canada trade goes across a single bridge between Detroit and the province of Ontario, worth $1bn (£810mn) a day. Ford (US:F) shares dropped 4 per cent in pre-market trading on Monday morning. Canada and Mexico are likely to retaliate as well. “ If the tariffs take effect on Tuesday, we think there could be a prolonged trade war because we do not see an obvious near-term off ramp,” said Barclays analyst Michael McLean.
Investors have broadly sold off a wide range of stocks, some with only a glancing exposure to the US. This implies a shift in outlook regarding EU tariffs and a broader surprise at the extent and speed of Trump’s action.
Banks
Shares in the UK’s biggest banks wobbled this morning, as investors reacted to Trump’s tariff spree. Barclays (BARC), HSBC (HSBA), Lloyds (LLOY), NatWest (NWG) and Standard Chartered (STAN) all fell by between 1 per cent and 3 per cent in early trading.
Smaller players such as Metro Bank (MTRO) and OSB Group (OSB) were hit slightly harder.
Shore Capital analyst Gary Greenwood explained that banks are “simply geared plays on the underlying economies in which they operate”. The fact that import tariffs could damage global trade and impact growth is making shareholders nervous.
Banks are also braced for an interest rate cut this week. The Bank of England is expected to lower interest rates by 0.25 points on Thursday to 4.5 per cent. This would mark the third cut since August. JS
Commodities and industrials
Industrials companies, miners and metals themselves all saw drops on the prospect of disruptions from new US tariffs, the worst-hit including copper producer Antofagasta (ANTO), energy engineering and services specialist Wood Group (WG.) and Ukrainian iron ore miner Ferrexpo (FXPO). Wood dropped 5 per cent while the others fell 4 per cent. A stronger US dollar, a side impact of US tariffs, will also hit commodity markets.
Copper, nickel and aluminium prices fell, although by around 1 per cent. Energy markets would see a greater impact given the trade between the US, Canada and Mexico. “Tariffs on Canada and Mexico could force both countries to redirect crude, impacting US refineries and leading to potential price hikes,” said Rystad Energy analyst Mukesh Sahdev.
“Opec+ is likely to act cautiously, balancing its efforts to stabilize prices while also dealing with geopolitical tensions.” AH
Tech
The trade between China and the US is foundational for the technology world. Chinese manufacturing is critical for companies like Apple (US:AAPL) and Microsoft (US:MSFT), while semiconductor companies would also feel the heat from a fierier trade war. During the last Trump administration, Apple pushed for an exemption to allow its phone imports to be protected from tariffs. This time the focus is on semiconductors. TSMC (TW:2330) fell almost 6 per cent on Monday, while Nvidia (US:NVDA) dropped 2.6 per cent in pre–market trading. Nothing like the DeepSeek selloff, but still a sign of investor worry. AH
Pharmaceuticals and the medical industry
Shares in the large London-listed pharmaceutical and medical devices companies were relatively untouched by the sudden imposition of tariffs, retreating in a range of 0.5 to 1 per cent on average. This reflects the fact that AstraZeneca (AZN), GSK (GSK) and Smith & Nephew (SN.) all have significant in-country manufacturing facilities in the US, though the imposition of 10 per cent tariffs on pharmaceutical ingredients from China, a major contract manufacturer, could raise some costs.
Further down the exchange list, shares in speciality chemicals company Croda (CRDA) fell 3 per cent. While it is unclear how the current tariff regime affects the company directly, it has suffered from previous US-China trade disagreements, which prompted it to reorganise its long supply chains.
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) was another mid-cap company to suffer from tariff fears. The group generates around 37 per cent of revenues from exports to the North American market, though it is unclear at this point whether the UK is included in the punitive tariffs list.
US companies with exposure to manufacturing in Mexico could find themselves suffering from the 25 per cent tariff on imports of medical devices. Medtronic (US:MDT), Johnson & Johnson (US:JNJ) and Boston Scientific (US:BSX) have all built up a significant presence in Mexico to take advantage of lower production costs in the country. The opening on Wall Street will determine investors’ reaction, but before the tariffs announcement, all three companies had seen their share prices rise in line with the index. JH
Retail and consumer stocks
Among retail and consumer stocks, THG (THG), SSP (SSP), Ocado (OCDO) and Dr Martens (DOCS) were some of the biggest fallers.
THG imports ingredients for its nutrition products from both Canada and China. Its shares slumped by 7 per cent.
Shares in SSP, Ocado and Dr Martens were all down 4 per cent. Although the latter’s shoes are mainly manufactured in Vietnam and Laos as opposed to China, it has at least one tier-one supplier in China. JD Sports Fashion (JD.), which sources most of its private label products in China, also saw its shares fall by 3 per cent.
Shares in drinks group Diageo (DGE) were hit by a 3 per cent fall, as 46 per cent of its US sales are imported from Mexico and Canada, according to Jefferies. It would need to increase prices by 4.6 per cent to offset this, the investment bank said. MF
Real estate
Shares in Sirius Real Estate (SRE) fell nearly 4 per cent this morning. The real estate investment trust (Reit) operates 70 sites across Germany, equating to 67 per cent of its rent roll. The majority of the Reit’s tenants are SMEs.
Trump has also threatened to impose tariffs on the EU, though he has yet to do so. NV
Hydrogen stocks tumble
Some London-listed hydrogen stocks were in the firing line this morning as victims of ramped-up fears for global trade and supply chains.
Ceres Power (CWR) shares fell 7 per cent in early trading. The hydrogen and fuel cell company took 80 per cent of its revenue from Asia in the latest half-year, with just under a fifth coming from Europe and an insignificant sum from North America.
Another hydrogen business, Aim-traded manufacturer ITM Power (ITM), was down 6 per cent in early trading. Its markets are focused on the UK and Europe. CA
Wealth and asset managers
St James’s Place (STJ) was among the FTSE 100’s biggest fallers this morning. Shares in the wealth manager declined by roughly 3 per cent, undoing some of the gains achieved last week. Other wealth and asset managers also felt the impact of Trump, with shares in Abrdn (ABDN), AJ Bell (AJB), Schroders (SDR) and Liontrust (LIO) under pressure this morning. JS
Distributors and logistics stocks
Shares of London-listed distributors and industrial firms tumbled this morning after Donald Trump’s US tariffs announcement over the weekend. James Latham (LTHM) fell 2.8 per cent, Diploma (DPLM) dropped 2.4 per cent and RS Group (RS1) saw a 3.1 per cent decline on jitters over rising costs and trade disruptions.
Logistics firms were also hit, with Logistics Development Group (LDG) down 2 per cent. Intertek (ITRK), a quality control provider, and Ricardo (RCDO), an engineering firm working with automotive and energy industries, saw drops of 2 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively. VM
discoverIE
discoverIE (DSCV) shares fell 7 per cent in early trading as investors reacted nervously to its exposure to markets in North America and Europe amid Trump’s tariff hikes and threats. The customised electronics manufacturer took a quarter of its sales from North America in its latest year, while Europe (excluding the UK and Nordics) delivered around 30 per cent. CA
Resolute Mining chief executive resigns
Terry Holohan has not returned to running gold miner Resolute Mining (RSG), resigning following a period of leave after his detention by the Malian government last year. Holohan was taken in by the authorities as part of a push to bring in more cash from gold miners. The campaign has also included major miner Barrick Gold (US:ABX). Holohan has served as chief executive since 2022, after joining Resolute as chief operating officer in 2021. CFO Chris Eger, who had been acting chief executive, has replaced Holohan.
Resolute shares fell 8 per cent on the news.
Resolute agreed to pay $160mn (£130mn) to “settle” the dispute with Mali while Holohan was still detained, while Barrick shut down its Loulo-Gounkoto mine after the government blocked a shipment of gold and then moved “the existing gold stock from the site to a custodial bank, further preventing the shipment and sale of the gold”. The Mali government is pushing miners onto a new mining code that gives the state a larger share of income. AH
Speedy Hire shares plummet on revenue delay
Shares in Speedy Hire (SDY) dropped 29 per cent this morning as the tools and equipment hire company lowered full year profit guidance after a “challenging start to our final quarter and ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty”.
Revenues, which were still 5 per cent ahead of the prior year, have been impacted by a slower post-December recovery and delays to the CP7 rail works. The joint venture in Kazakhstan also experienced a “significant downturn in performance due to the early shutdown of major contracts.” This is expected to have an ongoing impact into the 2026 financial year.
Panmure Liberum reduced its EPS forecasts for 2025 and 2026 by 42 per cent and 28 per cent. The broker also reduced its sales estimate by £10mn to £436mn, which equates to 3.5 per cent growth year on year.
Speedy Hire has had a patchy record in recent years, misplacing £20mn worth of equipment in 2023. NV
Ultimate Products lowers profit prospects
Ultimate Products (ULTP) warned that profits will be lower than expected after a slow first half in which sales fell by 6 per cent.
The owner of various homewares brands blamed “subdued” consumer demand in the UK, with sales of air fryers almost halved in the six months to the end of January.
And although an improvement in orders means it is targeting flat sales for the 12 months to July, higher shipping, labour and product packaging costs mean it now expects adjusted Ebitda of between £14mn-£16mn, well below both the consensus forecast of £20.6mn and last year’s figure of £18mn.
The company’s shares slumped by 16 per cent. MF
Churchill China rounds off a disappointing year
Shares in Churchill China (CHH) dropped after the company confirmed that trading in the final two months of its financial year remained in line with November guidance, when it warned that profitability would be “materially below” expectations.
The company is expected to make a pre-tax profit of £8.5mn, which would be more than a fifth lower than last year’s total of £10.8mn.
Despite chair Robin Williams stating that Churchill continues “to improve productivity and yield” in its factory, the company’s shares fell by 7 per cent. They have more than halved in value over the past 12 months. MF
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