European Stocks Face Pressure Amid Escalating Fears of a New Trade War
European stock markets started the week on a downward trend as President Donald Trump's statements about imposing new tariffs had a negative impact on investor sentiment, pushing key indices into the red zone.
The pan-European index, "Stoxx 600," recorded a clear decline, while German and French stock markets saw significant drops, with the British index edging up slightly. This mixed performance comes amid warnings of the repercussions of American threats to impose a 30% tariff on imports from the European Union and Mexico starting in August, following the failure of the latest round of negotiations between the two parties.
In response to this move, the European Union announced a temporary extension of countermeasures, reaffirming its commitment to finding a negotiated solution. Additionally, European officials revealed Brussels' readiness to impose retaliatory tariffs on American goods worth billions of euros if the crisis escalates.
In terms of sectors, automotive and retail company stocks were negatively affected by these developments, while some individual stocks showed positive performance, notably AstraZeneca's stock rising after the company announced positive results for a new drug to treat high blood pressure.
