London equities recovered from an early session slump on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 reversing some losses that accompanied a fresh wave of selling in technology names after reports that China had made progress developing domestic semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
By 03:40 ET (07:40 GMT) the FTSE 100 was 0.22% higher, having pared steeper morning declines. Germany’s DAX added 0.29% and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.42%. Sterling was largely unchanged against the dollar, trading near 1.33051 with a 0.05% rise on the day.
Tech shock and market ripple
Technology shares absorbed the bulk of the early pressure after the reports of Beijing’s advances in chip equipment. The news knocked heavyweight chip-related names lower in U.S. pre-market trade, with Nvidia falling sharply and AMD moving down.
The sell-off extended into Asian markets, where Japan’s Nikkei 225 posted a sharp decline and South Korea’s Kospi registered a heavier fall. Major Korean semiconductor suppliers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix were among the stocks to decline substantially. In China and Hong Kong the Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite recorded smaller losses overall. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 bucked the regional trend by closing in positive territory.
Security developments in the Middle East
On the geopolitical front, Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they had launched drone strikes against Saudi crude supply and transport infrastructure. The group targeted assets involved in moving oil from eastern Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, according to their statements.
A military spokesperson identified as Brigadier General Yahya Saree framed the operation as a response to what the Houthis described as "Saudi enemy drone incursions into Yemeni airspace." The group also claimed to have shot down a Saudi Bayraktar Akinci drone over Al-Jawf Governorate on July 26.
U.S. political and intelligence comments
U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking aboard Air Force One before meetings in Washington with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, dismissed Israeli objections to a proposed F-35 sale to Turkey. "Nobody tells me what we should be selling," he said, calling Turkey "a tremendous ally." Netanyahu had warned that the sale would "destroy the power balance in the Middle East" and described Turkish President Erdogan’s government as one "infected with the Muslim Brotherhood." Trump said a decision was forthcoming and noted that a congressional ban remained in place.
Trump also commented on Russia’s role relative to Iran, saying any Russian support had been "very unimpactful," and adding: "They have no army, they have no air force, they have no navy." Those remarks came amid allegations from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Russia was supplying satellite intelligence to Iran to aid strikes on U.S. military outposts and Gulf state facilities, and that Moscow was preparing to receive 30,000 North Korean troops. Trump said he would raise the satellite claim with President Putin.
Zelenskyy has said Ukrainian intelligence tracked Russian satellite surveillance of four regional air bases on July 19-20 alone: two in Bahrain, one in Jordan and one in Kuwait.
U.S. legal update
In U.S. legal news, a federal judge in Florida granted President Trump’s legal team until August 27 to amend a $15 billion defamation complaint against The New York Times. The New York Times described the suit as "an attempt to stifle independent reporting" and said it had "no merit."
Commodity moves
Energy and precious metals prices moved lower on Tuesday. Brent crude for October delivery fell 1.5% to $84.59 a barrel, while U.S. crude for September delivery declined 1.4% to $81.40. Gold futures slipped 0.64% to $4,050.70 per troy ounce and spot gold was down 0.66% at $4,050.08.
U.K. corporate round-up
- Ofcom is proposing to block a discounted broadband offer from BT’s Openreach, saying the deal could harm competition and make it harder for rival fibre networks to attract customers.
- Barclays posted a 17% rise in first-half profit, topped expectations, raised 2026 income guidance and announced a larger-than-expected £1 billion share buyback, supported by strong equities trading and investment banking revenue.
- Unilever beat second-quarter sales growth forecasts on the back of higher volumes and pricing, and lifted its 2026 underlying sales growth outlook, citing resilient demand across beauty, home care and household brands.
- Unite Group reported an 8% drop in first-half adjusted earnings, attributing part of the decline to acquisition-related costs, but it left its full-year outlook unchanged while it reshapes its portfolio.
- Man Group recorded record assets under management and stronger-than-expected first-half client inflows, noting that volatile markets had increased demand for some of its investment strategies.
- SSP Group maintained its full-year guidance after reporting solid third-quarter sales growth, with robust trading in the U.K. and Ireland offsetting weaker passenger volumes in markets affected by Middle East tensions.
Market snapshot
The following market tickers and moves were recorded in the trading updates referenced in market data: XAU/USD -0.69%, FCHI +0.12%, AXJO +0.6%, DE40 +0.23%, HK50 +0.23%, BARC -4.83%, NVDA -4.99%, EMG +5.2%, BT +0.01%, UTG -2.87%, AMD -5.17%, GC -0.7%, LCO -2.34%, UK100 -0.01%, CL -2.28%, JP225 -2.2%, KS11 -10.84%, SSEC -1.16%, 000660 -14.65%, 005930 -13.39%, SSPG +0.98%, ULVR +6.27%.
Markets navigated a mix of technology-specific disruption, geopolitical unrest and a flurry of corporate results, leaving indexes slightly higher in Europe but displaying notable volatility in sector and regional performance.