(Reuters) -UK shares climbed on Monday in broad-based gains after U.S. President Donald Trump exempted smartphones and computers from steep Chinese tariffs, offering investors some relief following weeks of market volatility.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 2% and the midcap index gained 2.5%.
The White House unveiled the tariff exemptions on Friday covering 20 categories including smartphones and laptops, as well as semiconductor memory chips and flat panel displays, accounting for 23% of U.S. imports from China.
But Trump on Sunday declared these exemptions temporary and revealed plans to announce new semiconductor tariffs within a week, with smartphone tariffs to follow “soon.”
Persistent uncertainty surrounding tariff policies has disrupted global markets recnetly, leading to a roughly 8% drop in the UK’s blue-chip index from its record closing high.
On the FTSE 100 index, 95 out of the 100 listed stocks traded in positive territory.
Heavy-weighted bank stocks led the FTSE 100 gains with Standard Chartered and Barclays each surging 5%.
Convatec Group jumped 4.3% after the medical equipment maker raised its annual sales forecast for its InnovaMatrix wound treatment product to $75 million from $50 million.
Gas producer Energean rose 5.3% after its Israeli subsidiary secured a new 17-year gas sale and purchase contract with Kesem Energy.
The midcap index saw electronics and technology stocks surge over 3.3%, with Kainos Group jumping 6.5% after the software developer said it expects to deliver 2025 revenues in line with consensus forecasts.
Bucking the trend, fund manager Ashmore dropped 6.4% after reporting a 5% sequential decline in third-quarter managed assets, due to some large institutional clients redeeming their holdings near the end of the period.
(Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Mohammed Safi Shamsi)
