European shares were largely unchanged on Thursday as investors took a step back to assess the ramifications of US President Donald Trump’s wavering tariff announcements on global trade relations.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.06% as of 0813 GMT, after closing 0.8% higher on Wednesday due to optimism from hopes of a ceasefire in Ukraine and a cooler-than-expected US inflation report.
Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to ratchet up a global trade war with further tariffs on European Union goods, just hours after the EU announced retaliatory levies in response to US trade barriers.
Automobiles and parts index, vulnerable to trade barriers, took the biggest hit and fell over 1%, while European banks also lost 0.7%.
European shares rebound as Ukraine ceasefire hopes uplift sentiment
Countering losses, European aerospace and defence index gained 0.6%.
Europe’s largest economy Germany is set to debate on Thursday a 500 billion euro ($543 billion) fund for infrastructure and sweeping changes to borrowing rules to bolster defence.
Shares of Energiekontor rose 3.3% after the German wind farm operator on Wednesday raised its core earnings guidance for 2024 above market expectations.
British online trading platform IG Group rose 3.7% after reporting a 12% jump in third-quarter revenue to 268 million pounds ($347 million) on Thursday.
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