European stock markets fell sharply at Thursday's close after US President Donald Trump announced sweeping trade tariffs. Markets had already shown signs of turbulence in premarket trading, reacting to the measures unveiled late Wednesday night in Europe. The European Union, France, and Spain quickly moved to try to counter the potential economic fallout of the implications of a 20% tariff on EU imports and a 10% levy on goods from the UK.
The impact was felt across currencies and major companies, with shipping giant Maersk seeing its shares plunge 10%.
At the close, the DAX plunged 2.93% or 654 points and the EURO STOXX 50 dipped 3.57% with Adidas AG diving 11.06% within both indexed. The CAC 40 tumbled 3.31% as STMicroelectronics fell 8.41%. The FTSE 100 slumped 1.59% with Standard Chartered PLC nosediving 13.32%. The euro traded 1.98% higher compared to the US currency, selling for $1.10675 at 5:31 pm CET. Simultaneously, the pound advanced 0.91% against the greenback to go for $1.31259.
