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“The much-awaited trade agreement between the US and the EU has finally been struck, sending a wave of relief across financial markets,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
“As widely expected, the agreed tariffs aren’t as high as previously feared, which means investors are taking the trade agreement as a massive win.
“In reality, this is far from a done deal. It is only a framework and still needs to be signed into law. Furthermore, Donald Trump has form in constantly tinkering at the edges and what he says one day might not be the same as the next.
“Investors are taking each bit of news one day at a time and today is one of celebration. The agreement is significant because it avoids a trade war between the US and the EU, which could have been troublesome for economic growth and investor sentiment.
“France’s CAC 40 jumped 1.1%, Spain’s IBEX 35 was up 0.9% and Germany’s DAX advanced 0.8%. The FTSE 100 was swept up in the market euphoria, rising 0.3% and led by AstraZeneca and GSK as the pharmaceutical pair both gave encouraging updates.
“Among UK small caps, Scottish broadcaster STV crashed 23% after warning on profit. It has been caught up in a perfect storm for the media industry. Fewer programmes are being commissioned and advertisers are being more cautious. Weak forward guidance has been a turn-off for investors.”
AstraZeneca / GSK
“AstraZeneca and GSK have been busy advancing their development portfolios, giving investors more reasons to be optimistic about future earnings.
“AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi drug got priority review status for treatment of patients with certain stages of gastric cancer. It expects a decision from the US regulator in the final three months of 2025. GSK struck a deal to develop up to 12 medicines with Hengrui Pharma.
“The pharmaceutical industry is constantly working on the next big thing, hoping to find treatments that can replace any sales dip on blockbuster drugs when they lose patent protection. That means either creating new treatments in the lab, working with partners, finding new applications for existing treatments, or acquiring companies or portfolios of proven treatments.”
Russ Mould: Investment Director
Russ Mould is AJ Bell's Investment Director. He has a Master's degree in Modern History from the University of Oxford and more than 30 years' experience of the capital markets.
He started out at Scottish...
