EUROPEAN STOCKS TUMBLE AS CHINA RETALIATES AFTER TRUMP'S TARIFF MOVES

FRANKFURT, April 5 (Bernama-dpa-AFX) -- European stocks plunged sharply, and several markets tumbled to fresh multi-month lows on Friday as US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff moves, and the retaliatory action by China raised fears of a global trade war and recession, prompting investors to press sales across the board. 

Bank, mining, energy, realty, pharmaceuticals, retail, and fashion jewellery - stocks from across all these sectors tumbled on sustained selling pressure, reported dpa-AFX news.

Trump's move prompted several European leaders to warn of retaliatory measures. French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly called on companies to suspend planned investments in the US.

Criticising Trump's decision to impose 34 per cent of additional reciprocal levies on China, which raises total US tariffs against the country to 54 per cent, as "inconsistent with international trade rules," China said that it will impose a 34 per cent tariff on all goods imported from the US starting on April 10.

Disappointing German factory orders data and construction sector report, as well as a drop in new car registrations, also hurt sentiment.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 5.12 per cent. The UK's FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX both closed down 4.95 per cent, and France's CAC 40 tumbled 4.26 per cent. Switzerland's SMI ended 5.14 per cent down. 

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden lost 3 to 7 per cent. Russia and Turkey closed lower by about 2.5 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively.

On the economic front, survey results from S&P Global said the UK construction sector logged a sustained downturn in March amid rising cost pressures. The construction Purchasing Managers' Index climbed to 46.4 in March from 44.6 in February. Among the main categories, civil engineering activity deteriorated at the steepest pace since October 2020, linked to delayed decision-making on new projects and a generally subdued pipeline of major infrastructure work. The decline in commercial building was the fastest since January 2021, while residential construction activity fell at a slower pace than in February.

Data from Destatis said German factory orders stagnated unexpectedly in February even though US importers brought forward imports to beat the impending tariffs. New orders in the manufacturing sector remained unchanged in February, reversing a 5.5 per cent drop in January, the data said. Orders were forecast to grow 3.4 per cent. Excluding large orders, new orders were 0.2 per cent lower than in the previous month. Germany's construction sector deteriorated at a faster pace at the end of the first quarter amid weaker order inflows, survey results from S&P Global showed. The HCOB construction Purchasing Managers' Index registered 40.3 in March, down from 41.2 in February. New car registrations in Germany fell 3.9 per cent year-on-year to 253,497 units in March, marking the fifth consecutive period of decline.

Data from statistical office INSEE showed France's industrial production recovered at a stronger-than-expected pace in February, growing by 0.7 per cent month-on-month, in contrast to the 0.5 per cent decrease in January. Economists had forecast output to grow 0.5 per cent. Likewise, manufacturing output advanced 1.4 per cent after a 0.5 per cent drop in the previous month. The upturn in output was mainly driven by the 1.2 per cent rebound in 'other manufacturing industries' and the 3.1 per cent increase in the manufacture of machinery and equipment goods.

--BERNAMA-dpa-AFX