European stocks have fallen into the red, in stark contrast to the ebullience on Wall Street, as investors fret that Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs will hit the continent’s exporters.
The STOXX Euro 600 index was up nearly 2% shortly after the open as traders noted a surge in U.S. stock-index futures. But with less than an hour of the session to go the European equity barometer is trading down by 0.4%.
Fears that incoming president Donald Trump will impose tariffs on the car sector in particular are pushing shares in BMW, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz down between 6-8%.
Not even a 1.9% fall in the euro to a four-month low – which would normally help exporters by making them more competitive – is providing much support.
Shares of shipping company A.P. Moeller-Maersk are down more than 7% as investors worry a tariff war would crimp global trade.
Meanwhile, green energy stocks such as Vestas Wind Systems, down 12%, are having a hard time like their U.S. peers on concerns Trump will pare back green policies implemented by the Biden administration.