FTSE 100 close: ‘Trouble ahead’ as markets brace for Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’

The FTSE 100 joined European markets back in the red on Wednesday, as investors braced for Trump’s forthcoming tariff announcement.

The UK’s flagship index closed at 8,608.48p, marking a 0.3 per cent dip.

Rolls-Royce lost over three per cent, making it the index’s top faller. Vodafone and GSK also saw losses of around 2.5 per cent.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown: “Nervousness about incoming wave of US tariffs has kept the FTSE 100 in the red, as investors assess the UK vulnerability and the knock-on effects for the global economy.”

Germany’s Dax closed at 0.66 per cent and Cac 40 in Paris made losses of 0.22 per cent.

Amidst this, the FTSE 250 managed to scrape a marginal gain, edging up 0.3 per cent.

Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said: “In the immortal words of Nat King Cole, ‘there may be trouble ahead’.

“Investors are braced for impact but it’s hard to prepare for what’s about to come when there are few clues about exactly what Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ will deliver and whether today’s tariffs might be mitigated for some countries with a few swift trade-offs.”

Since his inauguration in January, Trump’s bait and switch on tariffs have left global markets in turbulence.

The President’s mixed messaging over the nature of the tariffs and who could be slapped with the fresh levys have spiked investor concerns.

The White House’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday once the new tariffs were announced, they would be “effective immediately”.

US markets turn tide but Tesla woes deep

Despite opening on a lull, US markets managed to claw back gains in later trading.

The S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq Exchange all had minor bumps as the European markets closed.

The President is expected to speak at 21:00BST, which will coincide with the closing of American markets.

Whilst Wall Street remains calm, the woes for Nasdaq giant Tesla continued on Wednesday.

Elon Musk’s electric vehicle firm announced sales had plummeted to their lowest levels since the first quarter of 2025.

Tesla said it had delivered 336,681 vehicles in the first three months of the year, which fell short of the 390,000 cars and trucks – according to Bloomberg analysts.

This was driven by a refresh of its highly popular Model Y, as well as growing backlash against Musk from his ties to the Trump administration.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown: “The brand is under pressure, and while it’ll take a few months to get clean year-on-year delivery comparisons to truly assess the damage, there’s clearly an underlying impact.

“It’s rare to see sentiment toward a company so closely tied to a polarising White House, and until Musk pulls his focus back to Tesla, shares will remain volatile.”