Stock prices in London closed lower on Monday after the US announced that tariffs will be implemented later than previously claimed.
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday confirmed comments by US president Donald Trump that he would “probably start [tariffs] on August 1”.
US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick has also confirmed this new deadline.
The rates will “boomerang back” to the sometimes very high levels that President Trump had announced on April 2 – before he suspended the levies to allow for trade talks and set a July 9 deadline for agreements, Mr Bessent told CNN.
Also on Sunday, Mr Trump told reporters he had signed about a dozen letters to inform countries of rate hikes, to be sent out on Monday.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 16.38 points, 0.2%, at 8,806.53. The FTSE 250 ended down 18.86 points, 0.1%, at 21,538.48, and the AIM All-Share closed down 1.53 points, 0.2%, at 771.96.
On the FTSE 100, Glencore closed down 1.3%.
The Baar, Switzerland-based commodity trading and mining company started a buyback programme worth up to one billion dollars, returning funds from an investment return and looking to reduce capital in anticipation of future taxes. The plan was first announced on Wednesday.
On the FTSE 250, Hollywood Bowl closed up 3.0%.
The Hemel Hempstead-based ten-pin bowling operator started a £5 million share buyback, running from Monday to September 30. Hollywood Bowl noted its “highly cash generative business model and strong balance sheet”.
Primary Health Properties gained 0.3%.
The London-based healthcare facility investor reported rental growth amid a “strong” operational performance, with net rental income rising 3.1% on-year to £78.6 million for the six months that ended June 30. Primary Health distributed a total of 3.55p per share in the first half of 2025, up 2.9%.
PHP also gave an update regarding its proposed acquisition of peer Assura. Since Assura recommended PHP’s takeover offer two weeks ago, PHP said it has been discussing forming a joint venture, which is expected to include the private hospital portfolio.
In European equities on Monday, the Cac 40 in Paris closed up 0.3%, while the Dax 40 in Frankfurt ended up 1.1%.
The pound was quoted at 1.36 dollars at the time of the London equities close on Monday, flat compared to Friday. The euro stood at 1.17 dollars, slightly lower than Friday.
Stocks in New York were lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.7%, the S&P 500 index down 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.7%.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.39%, widening from 4.33%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.92%, widening from 4.85%.
Brent oil was quoted higher at 68.84 dollars a barrel at the time of the London equities close on Monday.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were 3i, up 134.00p at 4,176.00p, Babcock, up 28.00p at 1,101.00p, International Consolidated Airlines, up 8.20p at 354.80p, easyJet, up 8.80p at 531.60p, and Standard Chartered, up 20.04p at 1,227.04p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Shell, down 75.00p at 2,553.00p, JD Sports, down 2.16p at 87.88p, BP, down 7.50p at 371.75p, Haleon, down 6.60p at 371.30p, and Howden Joinery, down 14.22p at 817.28p.
On Tuesday’s economic calendar, the US has consumer inflation expectations, and Australia has an interest rate decision.
On Tuesday’s UK corporate calendar, there are full-year results from Celebrus Technologies, Optima Health and Solid State.
