European Stocks Close Sharply Lower As Trump's Tariff Announcement Triggers Sell-off

(RTTNews) - European stocks tumbled on Thursday with several markets falling to multi-month lows as U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" announcement triggered widespread selling.

U.S. President announced a 10% baseline on all US imports and a 20% rate for goods from the European Union, with a steeper 25% tariff on imported cars set to take effect immediately.''

It is feared that the new levies could fuel inflation and disrupt global supply chains and lead to trade wars.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged trading partners against taking retaliatory steps against the new set of tariffs. "As long as you don't retaliate this is the high end of the number," Bessent told Bloomberg Television.

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen posted on X that the universal tariffs announced by the U.S. are a major blow to businesses and consumers worldwide. "Europe is prepared to respond. We'll always protect our interests and values. We're also ready to engage," she wrote.

The British market's loss was somewhat less pronounced compared to other major European markets, as UK imports face a 10% tariff, half the 20% levy imposed on the European Union.

British Prime Minister Starmer has stated that the UK will respond with "cool and calm heads".

The pan European Stoxx 600 tumbled 2.57%, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed down 1.55%, Germany's DAX fell 3.01% and France's CAC 40 lost 3.31%. Switzerland's SMI dropped 2.45%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain and Sweden lost 1 to 4%.

Turkiye ended modestly lower, while Portugal bucked the trend and edged up marginally.

As selling was broadbased, stocks from across various sectors recorded steep losses. Banks, mining, energy, retailers and airlines stocks declined sharply. Pharmaceuticals stocks found some support as the U.S. President did not announce any specific reciprocal tariffs targeting the pharma sector.

Standard Chartered plunged more than 12%. HSBC Holdings and Barclays Group both closed nearly 9% down. Lloyds Banking Group and Natwest also declined sharply.

Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Societe Generale and BNP Paribas tumbled as well.

Glencore, BP, Antofagasta, Anglo American Plc, Shell, Schroders, Weir Holdings, Adidas, Puma, Siemens, Infineon, Sartorius, Daimler Truck Holding, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Porsche, Airbus, SAP, BMW and MTU Aero Engines ended sharply lower.

STMicroElectronics, Stellantis, Essilor, Kerring, LVMH, Legrand, Saint Gobain, TotalEnergies and Renault too declined sharply.

Danone, Orange, Engie, Thales, Carrefour, Vonovia, E.ON, Rheinmetall, Fresenius Medical Care, Severn Trent, United Utilities, National Grid, SSE, Unite Group, Tesco, BT, BAE Systems and Persimmon were among the stocks that bucked the trend and closed notably higher.

Eurozone producer price inflation accelerated notably in February on surging energy prices, Eurostat reported Thursday. Producer prices logged an annual growth of 3% in February, following January's 1.7% increase.

Eurozone March final HCOB Composite Output Index came in with a score of 50.9, up from February's 50.2 reading.

Data from S&P Global said the HCOB Germany Composite PMI for March was revised higher to 51.3 from a preliminary of 50.9 and compared to 50.4 in February. The reading marked the strongest expansion in the private sector in ten months. The manufacturing PMI came in with a score of 48.3, compared to 46.5 in February, while the service sector PMI moderated slightly to 50.9 in March from 51.1 a month earlier.

Data from S&P Global said the HCOB France Composite PMI for March 2025 was revised slightly up to 48, from the flash estimate of 47, and above February's 13-month low of 45.1.

France's private sector saw its seventh consecutive month of contraction, although the downturn was just modest and the mildest since October 2024. Manufacturing activity improved with the PMI score coming in at 48.5, up from 45.8 in February, while services PMI improved to 47.9 from 45.3.

Data from S&P Global said the UK Composite PMI registered 51.5 in March, revised down from the preliminary estimate of 52.0. However, the reading was still above February's 50.5.

The S&P Global UK Services PMI was revised lower to 52.5 in March from a preliminary score of 53.2. But, the score till marked the highest reading since August 2024.