This is CNBC’s live blog covering European markets.
European stock markets are expected to fall dramatically at the open Thursday as traders react to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs announcements.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 121 points lower at 8,513, Germany’s DAX down 396 points at 21,994, France’s CAC 127 points lower at 7,731 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 547 points lower at 38,010, according to data from IG.
The sharp declines expected at the start of the European trading day come after Trump on Wednesday signed an aggressive and far-reaching “reciprocal tariff” policy, with his plan setting a 10% baseline tariff across the board.
Read CNBC’s live blog tracking the tariffs and global reaction here.
The president announced a slew of “reciprocal tariffs” on more than 180 countries and territories, including a 20% tariff on goods being imported from the EU and 10% on goods from the U.K.
The U.S.’ biggest economic rival China was hit with a new 34% tariff rate which will come on top of the existing 20% tariffs on U.S. imports from China, taking the effective total tariffs to 54%.
See Trump’s list: More than 180 countries and territories facing reciprocal tariffs
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen responded to the tariffs announcements by saying the European Union is preparing further countermeasures against U.S. tariffs if negotiations fail. China, meanwhile, said Thursday that it would take “resolute counter-measures” against the sweeping U.S. tariffs and urged Washington to cancel the unilateral tariff measures.
European exporters will be closely watched during the trading day, with shares of automakers expected to slide as Trump’s 25% tariffs on imported vehicles to the U.S. take effect. Shares of industrial machinery exporters are also likely to see declines.
Data releases in Europe Thursday will include euro zone services and manufacturing purchasing managers’ index data for March.
Europe’s “worst economic nightmare just came true,” economists at ING said in a note late Wednesday regarding news on 20% U.S. tariffs.
“While in recent weeks, the longer-term outlook for Europe had clearly brightened with the European defence initiatives and the German fiscal U-turn, tariffs have just darkened the near-term outlook.”
The EU’s willingness to negotiate is admirable but may be a lengthy process and does not appear to have much receptivity stateside, the ING economists said, potentially making an offer to buy more U.S. goods a quicker option for a deal.
Morris Macmatzen | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Container gantry cranes are seen at the container terminal ‘Eurogate’ in the harbour of the northern German city of Hamburg Port on February 27, 2025 in Hamburg, Germany.
EU countermeasures will include reinstating suspended tariffs on U.S. goods and adding higher counter-tariffs to a range of products including agriculture and food, clothing, furniture, household appliances, construction, steel, cars and car parts and precious metals, they added.
Overall, ING estimates 20% blanket tariffs could cut 0.3 percentage points from euro zone economic growth over the next two years, accounting only for direct and indirect trade impact.
Berenberg economists Atakan Bakiskan and Salomon Fiedler said the euro zone impact was “serious” but “could have been worse.”
“We expect the damage of the escalating trade conflict to primarily show up in lower real GDP, while the net effect on inflation will probably be small,” they said in a Wednesday note, also raising the positive effect of German stimulus. Goods exports to the U.S. accounted for 3.2% of euro zone gross domestic product in 2024, they said.
The economists said they expected “serious negotiations” between the EU and U.S. to begin soon, with the EU potentially able to leverage its status as a major market for U.S. services and tech companies.
— Jenni Reid
President Donald Trump and the White House laid out the U.S. reciprocal tariff rates that more than 180 countries and territories will face under his sweeping new trade policy.
In charts posted on social media, the White House shows the effective tariff rates they claim other countries impose on American goods, including by “currency manipulation and trade barriers.”
An adjacent column shows the new tariff rates the U.S. will impose on each country or territory, including the European Union. The reciprocal rates are not necessarily the only U.S. tariffs these countries will face.
Trump held up the chart when he unveiled his tariff policy in the White House Rose Garden.
Courtesy: Donald Trump via Truth Social
Chart of reciprocal tariffs.
— Kevin Breuninger
In addition to the sweeping country-by-country tariffs announced today, Trump also imposed a 10% baseline tariff that effectively ensures a tariff on any country that is not among the more than 180 singled out.
“All articles imported into the customs territory of the United States shall be, consistent with law, subject to an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 10%,” unless otherwise noted, the executive order signed this afternoon reads.
Trump also reserves the right to raise this baseline rate “should U.S. manufacturing capacity and output continue to worsen.”
Read the whole executive order here.
— Erin Doherty
European markets are expected to fall sharply at the open Thursday as regional markets react to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade tariff announcements.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 121 points lower at 8,513, Germany’s DAX down 396 points at 21,994, France’s CAC 127 points lower at 7,731 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 547 points lower at 38,010, according to data from IG.
Data releases Thursday will include euro zone services and manufacturing purchasing managers’ index data for March.
— Holly Ellyatt
