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FTSE 100 Hits Record High as Investors Brush Off Trade War Tensions

Prime Highlights

  • FTSE 100 finishes at record high of 8,975.66 amidst global trade uncertainty.
  • Mining and defence stocks at the forefront as investors remain bullish on the future.

Key Fact

  • The index has risen over 9% year to date, recovering from the April collapse in global markets.
  • Stocks such as Fresnillo and Babcock are some of the top-performing stock of 2025.

Key Background

The “FTSE 100” soared to an all-time closing high of 8,975.66 on July 10, 2025, despite ongoing trade war fears and investor disappointment about next-step tariffs. The UK’s blue-chip benchmark topped an intraday high of 8,979.41, continuing its recovery from first-half indecision, as the mining and defense sectors led a surge.

Market euphoria appears to be founded on doubt over the prospects of successful imposition of threatened tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump, for example, a 50% tariff on copper. Investors are interpreting belligerent threats as bluff, not promise, labeling the narrative of the “TACO” trade— “Trump Always Chickens Out.”

Leading the rally were mining majors such as Anglo American, Rio Tinto, and Glencore that stand to gain from increasing commodity prices on a weakening dollar. Gold and precious metals miner Fresnillo has been one of the top performers with nearly 140% return this year. Defense sectors such as Babcock and BAE Systems also rose on the back of expected increased geopolitical expenditure driven by continuing tensions in the Eastern region.

This record peak follows hot on the heels of April’s decline, triggered by the so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs which shook world markets. New investor confidence, however, has pushed the FTSE ahead, driven by better fundamentals and mitigating worries over trade policy aggressiveness. Britain’s deeply internationally-marked index is still highly attuned to world macroeconomic trends.

Also propelling the positive mood was a broad European market rally, with Germany’s DAX also hitting record highs after Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s assurances of fiscal support. Collectively, such optimism suggests growing investor optimism that trade headwinds can be offset by political give-and-take, measured restraint, and market resilience.

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