European Stocks Decline Amid Trade War Fears

European stocks declined sharply as trade war fears loom. The market skidded 1.2% following U.S. tariffs on key trading partners, anticipating impacts on earnings and broader global economic growth.

Date: 03-02-2025

AI Rating: 4

**Trade War Fears Impacting Market**: The recent imposition of tariffs by the U.S. on Canada, Mexico, and China has raised significant concerns about a potential trade war. This situation is expected to negatively affect global economic growth, which in turn could impact the earnings of major companies.

**Stock Market Reaction**: The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell by 1.2%, indicating a broad market reaction to the tariff announcements. Notably, the German DAX and France's CAC 40 suffered a decline of 1.6% and 1.4% respectively. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 also faced a drop of 1.3%, albeit showing some resilience as Trump indicated the U.K. might evade tariffs.

**Sector-Specific Impacts**: Specific sectors, particularly automakers and technology stocks, were hit hard by these trade uncertainties. Automakers like BMW, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, and Stellantis saw their stocks plummet by 4-6%. Similarly, technology stocks experienced broad-based losses, with Infineon Technologies down by 3.2% and ASML Holding falling by 2.5%.

**Company-Specific Updates**: Julius Baer, a Swiss bank, sharply declined by more than 10% following its announcement of workforce reductions, reflective of cost-saving measures under new management. Additionally, Sandoz faced a slump of 4.6%, marking a turbulent day for these stocks.

Stocks: BMW DAI VOW STLA IFNNF ASML JBRCF SDZIY