LONDON: Europe's major equity markets largely recovered Tuesday as investors fished for bargain stocks after large losses sparked by Donald Trump's immigration ban.
Markets had flown into a tailspin Monday on controversy over the US president's divisive executive order to ban refugees and citizens of seven mainly Muslim countries.
"European markets are attempting to break from the negative spiral that has been evident so far this week, with the outcry caused by Donald Trump's travel ban causing widespread selling throughout global markets," said IG analyst Joshua Mahony.
"Despite the obvious moral impact the travel ban has had, the impact to the majority of businesses is likely to be minimal, providing a great buying opportunity.
However, despite earlier losses in Asia on Tuesday, London and Paris indices banked higher in late morning deals but Frankfurt turned flat.
"Although some of the selling momentum experienced yesterday throughout the stock markets has cooled down, the market headlines across the globe continue to be dominated by the executive order from Donald Trump," noted FXTM analyst Jameel Ahmad.
"There is no doubting that this move from Trump has caused outrage across the globe and such actions represent a risk to the market sentiment," he warned.
Asian markets retreated again Tuesday amid fears over the impact of Trump's presidency on the global economy.
The White House has defended the immigration policy as aimed at fighting terrorism.
However, after a weekend of chaos at airports, protests and a diplomatic outcry, criticism even came from Trump's predecessor Barack Obama.
And in a fresh development late Monday, Trump fired his government's chief lawyer for refusing to defend his controversial immigration orders.
Trump's executive order suspends the arrival of all refugees for a minimum of 120 days, Syrian refugees indefinitely and bars citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days.
The resulting global outrage spooked investors, who fear the announcement could be a sign the tycoon will press ahead with many of his protectionist promises, overshadowing economy-boosting measures such as infrastructure spending and tax cuts -- which had fuelled a rally in November and December.
"Trump is proving to be even more erratic and unpredictable than many feared," noted XTB analyst David Cheetham.
All three main Wall Street indexes ended lower in Monday trade, while London, Paris and Frankfurt each lost more than one percent.
The sell-off spread to Asia, with Tokyo ending 1.7 percent lower on Tuesday, while Hong Kong and Shanghai were closed for holidays.
Friday's order was the latest controversial move by Trump in his first week, which also included a row with Mexico over trade and his proposed border wall, battles with the media over the crowd size at his inauguration and unsupported assertions that millions of people voted illegally in the 2016 election.
- Key figures around 1130 GMT -
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London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,158.90 points
Frankfurt - DAX 30: FLAT at 11,685
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 4,793.60
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.1 percent at 3,267.40
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.7 percent at 19,041.34 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: Closed
Shanghai - Composite: Closed
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 19,971.13 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0712 from $1.0695
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2424 from $1.2491
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 113.78 yen from 113.81 yen
Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 25 cents at $52.38 per barrel
Oil - Brent North Sea: DOWN ten cents at $55.13
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