British stocks mixed after US court blocks Trump tariffs
May 29 (Reuters) - British equities were mixed on Thursday as a U.S. court's decision to block President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs boosted sentiment, though losses in utilities and persistent trade concerns limited the gains.
As of 0952 GMT, the blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE), opens new tab was down 0.05%, while the domestically focussed FTSE 250 (.FTMC), opens new tab rose 0.3%.
The Court of International Trade said Trump had overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board tariffs on imports from U.S. trade partners.
Markets around the globe rose following the news.
The White House has appealed the decision, which could reach the Supreme Court, but investors welcomed the potential reprieve from tariff volatility that has persisted since April.
The UK was the first country to secure a limited bilateral trade agreement with the U.S., maintaining Trump's 10% tariffs on British exports while expanding agricultural access and lowering U.S. duties on car exports.
Luxury brand Burberry (BRBY.L), opens new tab was among the top gainers on the mid-cap index on Thursday, advancing 2%.
Industrial metal miners' sub-index (.FTNMX551020), opens new tab gained 0.2% as prices of metals in London rose.
Sub-index heavyweights Rio Tinto (RIO.L), opens new tab, Anglo American (AAL.L), opens new tab, Glencore (GLEN.L), opens new tab and Antofagasta (ANTO.L), opens new tab climbed between 1% and 2%
London-listed shares of Atalaya Mining Copper SA rose 5%.
Bond-proxy utilities (.FTUB6510), opens new tab were the biggest laggards on the blue-chip index, falling 2.5%, as the UK government bond yields inched higher on the day, tracking Eurozone peers.
National Grid (NG.L), opens new tab and Severn Trent (SVT.L), opens new tab both shed more than 3%.
Shares of automotive platform Auto Trader (AUTOA.L), opens new tab tumbled 13.8% to a more than one-month low after missing annual revenue estimates.
Market sentiment received an additional boost after the world's most valuable semiconductor firm, Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab, beat estimates for first-quarter sales.
Back home, economic data showed business confidence in Britain's services sector hit a two-and-a-half-year low in the May quarter, with cost pressures rising partly due to employment tax rises.
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He added: 'Nothing about the prosecution of this defendant for his words and actions has any impact on the ability of anyone to make any trenchant criticism of a religion. On Feb 13, Coskun, who is of Armenian-Kurdish descent, travelled from his home in the Midlands to the Turkish consulate in Knightsbridge. He then set fire to the holy book and held it above his head, shouting, 'Islam is religion of terrorism'and 'f--- Islam'. As he did so, a passerby attacked him and appeared to slash at Coskun with a blade and then began kicking him when he fell to the ground. Although the man has admitted assaulting Coskun, he has denied using a knife in the attack. The man, whose identity is subject to reporting restrictions, will go on trial in 2027. 'We intend to appeal this verdict' The National Secular Society (NSS), which, alongside the Free Speech Union, paid for Coskun's legal fees, said the verdict 'jeopardises' free expression. A spokesperson for the FSU said: 'This is deeply disappointing. Everyone should be able to exercise their rights to protest peacefully and to freedom of expression, regardless of how offensive or upsetting it may be to some people. 'The Free Speech Union and the National Secular Society intend to appeal this verdict and keep on appealing it until it's overturned. If that means taking it all the way to the European Court of Human Rights, we will do so.' 'Religious tolerance is an important British value, but it doesn't require non-believers to respect the blasphemy codes of believers. On the contrary, it requires people of faith to tolerate those who criticise and protest against their religion, just as their values and beliefs are tolerated.'
