European shares were subdued on Monday, with investors on the lookout for any trade-related headlines in the countdown to US President Donald Trump’s tariff deadline.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was flat at 541.15 points, as of 0835 GMT.
Other major regional indexes were mixed, with Germany’s DAX up 0.4%, while France’s CAC 40, Spain’s IBEX , and the UK’s FTSE 100 each fell 0.1%.
President Trump said on Sunday, the US is close to finalising several trade agreements in the coming days and will notify other countries of higher tariff rates by July 9.
The new rates are set to take effect from August 1.
He also said the US will send letters to 12 countries on Monday, detailing the different tariff levels they will face on goods they export to the US “Trade deals have taken years to agree…suddenly the US is trying to negotiate so many deals in three months.
It will be surprising if they get proper long-lasting deals signed very quickly“, said Andrew Lapping, Chief Investment Officer at Ranmore Fund Management.
Meanwhile, Trump threatened an extra 10% tariff on countries aligning themselves with the “anti-American policies” of the BRICS group of developing nations.
He added to the confusion by mentioning that some tariffs could reach up to 70% levels far higher than the 10%-50% range he announced in April.
“Trump is in a teasing mood, hinting that more deals will be inked in the coming days….investors are bracing for another burst of volatility, as another cloud of unpredictability descends.”, said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown in a note.
Meanwhile, a White House official said on Friday that US trade talks with the European Union were ongoing, and there was optimism that an agreement could be reached in the near future.
European shares fall as banks, mining stocks losses weigh
European energy stocks fell 1.6%, tracking lower oil prices —meanwhile, insurance stocks were up 0.8%.
Among individual stocks, Shell fell 3% after the energy major trimmed its second-quarter gas, LNG output outlook and guided for weaker trading results in a quarterly update ahead of full results.
Capgemini fell 4.1% after the French IT services firm agreed to buy technology outsourcing company WNS for a cash payment of $3.3 billion.
China’s finance ministry said on Sunday it would restrict government purchases of medical devices from the EU that exceed 45 million yuan ($6.3 million) in value, in retaliation for Brussels’ curbs last month.
Carl Zeiss Meditec and Merck Kgaa fell 1.7% and 2.1%, respectively, following China’s reciprocal curbs on EU medical devices.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.