European markets opened mostly mixed on Tuesday morning as investors consider how US President Donald Trump’s decisions on tariffs will impact company stocks - and the wider economy.
Britain’s FTSE index opened 0.10% lower on Tuesday morning, while Germany’s DAX index rose 0.6%. France’s CAC 40 index also advanced, by 0.4%. The STOXX 600 index dropped 0.2% on Tuesday morning.
Investors are increasingly spooked following US president Donald Trump’s recent comments about a ‘period of transition’, which pointed towards the possibility of an economic downturn.
“Trump's message at the weekend was that he is willing to accept some economic pain for long-term structural change - the market is now pricing in that pain. Investors are beginning to accept that they can no longer depend on Trump's assumed sensitivity to market performance to trigger a policy pivot,” Kyle Chapman, FX markets analyst at Ballinger Group, told Euronews.
Asia-Pacific markets overnight
In the Asia-Pacific region, stocks were still lacklustre overnight, extending a market sell-off.
“Asian stocks plunged Tuesday as fears of a prolonged US-China trade war fueled recession concerns, exacerbated by president Donald Trump's comments about a 'period of transition' without ruling out an economic downturn,” IG said in an email note to clients.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 sank 0.6% to 36,793.11, its lowest close in six months but up from a more than 2% loss earlier in the day.
China's Shanghai Composite index picked up 0.4% to 3,379.83 as the country's annual national congress wrapped up its annual session with some measures to help boost the slowing economy.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng was nearly unchanged at 23,782.14.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.9% to 7,890.10. South Korea's Kospi declined 1.2% to 2,537.60.
US markets - closing prices on Monday
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose then fell again on Tuesday morning, reaching a dip of around 0.5% in daily trading.
This followed steep losses seen during Monday’s trading session, when the index shed 4%, marking the biggest single-day loss since 2022 and wiping $1.1 trillion (€710bn) off its market valuation.
The S&P 500 was down around 0.7% on Tuesday morning, whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index slipped just over 1%.
It comes as the US economy’s growth forecasts have been slashed by Goldman Sachs, which now expects it to rise by 1.7% in 2025, down from an earlier forecast of 2.4%.
The Magnificent Seven stocks led the broad market decline, as US President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariffs raised concerns over profit margins, increasing price barriers for tech giants. “The markets are now also contending with the risk of weaker earnings from slower growth and eroded margins from the higher costs created by tariffs,” Kyle Rodd, a senior market analyst at Compital.com Australia, wrote in an email.
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Commodities and currencies
In commodities, US crude oil was up 0.42% at $66.31 a barrel on Tuesday morning, while Brent crude rose 0.3% to $69.50 per barrel.
Gold, meanwhile, was up 0.5% to $2,900.4 (€2,661.6) per ounce in early morning trading, hovering near record highs.
The EUR/USD pair rose 0.6% on Tuesday morning, with the EUR/GBP pair also up 0.2%.
Company earnings today
In corporate updates, Volkswagen’s share price was up 1.60% on Tuesday morning as the German car group announced its latest full-year 2024 results. The company reported a 15% fall in annual profit but said it expects revenue to rise in 2025.
The Lego Group announced record 2024 results, with revenue surging 13% to DKK 74.3bn (€9.9bn) and consumer sales growing 12%. Operating profit rose 10% to DKK 18.7bn (€2.5bn). The strong results were boosted partly by growing demand for Lego’s vast portfolio of products, as well as its robust supply chain.
British housebuilding company Persimmon, meanwhile, revealed a 2% rise in profit before tax for 2024, compared to 2023. Underlying operating profit jumped 14% in 2024, with new home completions rising 7%. The company’s share price rose 4.7% on Tuesday afternoon on the London Stock Exchange.
Italian aerospace company Leonardo’s revenues saw a lift of 11.1% in 2024, with new orders soaring 12.2%. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also jumped 16.1%. The aerospace giant’s share price increased around 1.1% on Tuesday afternoon on the Milan Stock Exchange.
Healthcare stocks also lagged on Tuesday, following Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk’s latest weight loss drug trial results. The pharma company’s shares fell approximately 3% on the Nasdaq Copenhagen index on Tuesday afternoon, with Swiss pharma giant Novartis also dropping about 5.4% on the SIX Swiss Exchange.