Mining firms lift FTSE 100 to record high after Trump confirms 50% copper tariff

Mining firms lead FTSE 100 to new record high

European market sentiment is bright on Thursday morning, with the regional Stoxx 600 index up 0.5% and most sectors in the green.

It comes as investors digest a slew of U.S. tariff updates — though not yet one for the European Union, as negotiators scramble to strike a framework trade agreement.

Mining stocks are leading gains on the Stoxx 600, with the sector up 3.4%, lifting the U.K.'s FTSE 100 above a record intraday high set in March.

Anglo American shares are 5% higher, with Rio Tinto and Glencore both up around 4%. The firms all have significant copper operations, a market which is currently reeling from U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement Wednesday that 50% duties will be slapped on the metal from Aug. 1. The news has sent U.S. copper prices soaring, and is likely to signal increased government support for mining projects in the country.

WPP shares slightly higher after Microsoft exec Cindy Rose named new CEO

WPP shares opened nearly 2% higher after the advertising giant named board member and Microsoft COO for Global Enterprise, Cindy Rose, as its next CEO a day after downgrading its profit outlook.

WPP Chair Philip Jansen said Rose's expertise in artificial intelligence will be valuable as the advertising industry navigates fundamental changes. Rose will become CEO on Sept. 1.

Mark Read announced last month he would step down from the role after seven years. Read told a CNBC-moderated panel shortly after the announcement that AI was “totally disrupting” the advertising industry.

U.S. copper prices climb as Trump announces Aug. 1 tariffs

Comex copper futures, a gauge of U.S. prices for the metal, are 2.5% higher this morning — pushing back toward an all-time high set two days ago.

The move comes after U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that a 50% tariff on copper imports will take effect on Aug. 1.

Trump's surprise Tuesday announcement of a 50% rate, at the highest end of traders' expectations, sharply jolted the copper market, with the premium paid by U.S. buyers over the rest of the world more than doubling to a record over $2,600. You can see that elevation in U.S. Comex over global benchmark London Metal Exchange futures as of July 8 here:

Activist investor Standard Investments halves stake in Johnson Matthey after major overhaul

Activist investor Standard Investments has halved its stake in London-listed Johnson Matthey after a six-month campaign that forced the British specialty chemicals company into a major overhaul.

Based in New York, Standard Investments is the investment arm of Standard Industries, a privately held industrial company that owns the specialty chemicals company W.R. Grace.

Standard began agitating late last year by publishing an open letter accusing Johnson Matthey's board of presiding over “sustained underperformance” that had wiped out shareholder value.

Read the full story here.

Porsche flags second-quarter tariff hit of 300 million euros

Germany's Porsche said after the market close yesterday that it expects U.S. import tariffs for April and May to shave 300 million euros ($352 million) from its second-quarter earnings.

The luxury sports carmaker outlined the figure during an investor call ahead of first-half earnings, due Aug. 13.

Earlier this week, Porsche announced its deliveries had declined in the first half, with China down 28%, Germany down 23% and the rest of Europe down 8%. North America deliveries popped 10% as customers took advantage of tariff price protections.

Here are the countries hit with U.S. tariffs this week

President Donald Trumpon Wednesday sent letters dictating new U.S. tariff rates on at least seven more countries' imports, having sent similar letters to 14 other nations earlier this week.

The latest letters, revealed by Trump via Truth Social screenshots, were sent to the leaders of the Philippines, Brunei, Moldova, Algeria, Iraq, Libya and Sri Lanka. The letters note that the U.S. will “perhaps” consider adjusting the new duties, “depending on our relationship with your Country.”

This chart shows the old and new tariff rates, which will take effect on Aug. 1, and which countries are affected.

Good morning, here are the opening calls

Good morning from a sunny and summery London, and welcome to CNBC's live blog covering all the action and business news in European financial markets on Thursday.

Futures data from IG suggests regional markets will open higher, with London's FTSE 100 expected to open 34 points higher at 8,902, Germany's DAX up 60 points at 24,580 and France's CAC 40 up 19 points at 7,897. Italy's FTSE MIB is seen opening 60 points higher at 40,934.

Global markets have been focused on one thing this week: the increasingly unwieldy U.S. trade tariffs regime.

On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump sent letters dictating new U.S. tariff rates on at least seven more countries' imports, having already sent letters to 14 other countries earlier this week that laid out punitive duties.

He also announced late Wednesday a 50% tariff on Brazil partly in retaliation against the current trial against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for his role in an alleged attempt to overturn the country's 2022 election results.

Trump on Tuesday announced a 50% levy on copper imports, which will begin on Aug.1, and signaled that more sector-specific tariffs will come soon. He also threatened to impose tariffs of up to 200% on pharmaceutical exports into the U.S., but said that he will “give people about a year, year and a half” until the duties go into effect.