Search Share Prices
Europe open: Stocks dip on unexpected US tariff, Korea moves and ahead of jobs report
Stocks have started slightly lower, with unexpected announcements from the US administration on the White House's tariff plans and North Korea adding to the uncertainty ahead of the release of the monthly US jobs report.
Against that backdrop, as of 0917 GMT, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was dipping by 0.03% or 0.14 points to 376.48, alongside a fall of 0.47% or 58.94 points in the German Dax to 12,296.57 and a retreat of 0.14% or 7.54 points for the French Cac-40 to 5,247.06.
Meanwhile, euro/dollar was 0.03% lower to 1.2311, while the yield on the German 10-year Bund was retreating was bouncing back by two basis points and at 0.65%, following the prior session's sharp drop after the European Central Bank sounded a more dovish than expected note.
"With having to absorb the Trump tariffs story and the various carve-outs, as well as the unexpected announcement of a potential historic meeting between the US President and North Korea's Kim Jong Un, investors have a lot to contend with ahead of the weekend, as investors try and stay one step ahead of the US President's predilection for unpredictability," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
Nevertheless, at first glance the US president's tariff plans did appear to leave room for the country's allies to be at least partly exempted, which appeared to be a relative positive, although markets were still closely watching for other countries' reactions.
No announcement on tariffs had been expected for Thursday night.
"Moving on, the trade conflict is highly likely to be the source of bouts of market volatility in the near future. Admittedly, when Mr. Trump signed the tariff order late yesterday, [fixed income] markets showed virtually no reaction. It now depends on how other countries, particularly China and the EU, respond to the US tariffs," said analysts at Unicredit Research.
Also overnight, and breaking with decades of tradition in foreign policy, president Trump agreed to meet North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Analysts generally greeted the news, but cautioned that Pyongyang might have gained "respectability" in exchange for very little.
Economic data was on the soft side at the end of the week.
French industrial production fell back sharply in January, falling by 2.0% against December, with declines see across all the main categories, led by falls in Mining and Construction output of 6.7% and 7.6%, respectively, INSEE said.
Spanish industrial production was also weaker, shrinking by an outsized 2.6% during the same month (consensus: 0.1%) as energy ouput fell back by an outsized 7.5%, although production of capital goods also weakened, falling by 2.3%, according to INE.
German industrial production undershot forecasts as well, with the country's Ministry of Finance reporting a dip of 0.1% month-on-month (consensus: 0.5%).
Looming large on the economic calendar for later in the day was the US non-farm payrolls report for the month of February, which was scheduled for release at 1330 GMT.
In the corporate space, Airbus was again making headlines, with Bloomberg reporting that India's largest carrier, IndiGo, might be set to purchase up to 50 SE A330 wide-body jets from the Leiden, Netherlands-based manufacturer.
Further South, according to analysts at Banco Sabadell, Telefonica could generate 8.4bn by selling its German arm, which would help to accelerate its attempts deleverage its balance sheet.
Banco Sabadell stuck to a 'buy' recommendation for the shares.