- Global market slide spreads to Europe after Trump announces metal tariff plans.
- On Thursday, Trump promised new tariffs of 25% for steel and 10% for aluminum.
- The news caused US stocks to tumble, and the sell-off has continued in Europe on Friday.
- Major European indices are lower by around 1% in morning trade.
A global stock market slide triggered by President Trump’s tariff announcements on Thursday has spread into Europe on Friday morning, with all the continent’s major bourses dropping substantially during early trade.
Trump promised new tariffs — taxes on imports — of 25% for steel and 10% for aluminum. The president did not specify whether any countries would be exempt, but the restrictions are expected to be wide-ranging.
That news sparked concerns about the beginning of a global trade war, whereby countries around the world impose tariffs on each other, ostensibly to protect their own interests. Such a battle would lead to higher prices and could stifle international trade.
Markets reacted badly to the news, with major US indices losing between 1.2% and 1.7% by the close on Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 420 points, with its worst level of the day a fall of almost 600 points.
The S&P 500 closed down 1.32%, making for the first time January 2016 that it fell more than 1% in three consecutive sessions. The Nasdaq 100 finished down 1.51%.
Those losses continued into Asia overnight, and by Friday morning, the European markets are also sliding, with several bourses lower by more than 1%.
Here’s the scoreboard as of 8.30 a.m. GMT (3.30 a.m. ET)
- Britain’s FTSE 100— down 0.42% to 7,145 points
- Germany’s DAX— down 1.18% to 12,047
- France’s CAC 40— down 0.99% to 5,210
- Italy’s FTSE MIB—down 1.02% to 22,218
News of Trump’s planned trade measures has not so far been well received in Europe, with Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, saying in a statement that the European Union would “react firmly and commensurately to defend our interests.”
“We strongly regret this step, which appears to represent a blatant intervention to protect US domestic industry and not to be based on any national security justification,” Juncker said. “Protectionism cannot be the answer to our common problem in the steel sector.”
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