Europe: Stoxx 600 logs biggest daily drop in 2025 as US tariffs rattle investors
EUROPEAN shares logged their biggest one-day drop in more than one month on Monday, with automakers leading declines as investors priced-in that US President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs could escalate into a broader trade war.
Over the weekend, Trump announced 25 per cent trade duties on Canada and Mexico, along with a 10 per cent levy on China. However, following preliminary negotiations, the US president said on Monday new tariffs on Mexico would be paused for a month.
The tariffs, set to take effect at 0501 GMT on Tuesday, would affect US$1.3 trillion of goods, or more than 40 per cent of all US imports.
Canada and Mexico announced immediate retaliatory levies, while China also announced countermeasures.
Trump also warned that tariffs on Europe will “definitely happen”, but did not offer any clarity.
The export-heavy Stoxx 600 index fell 0.87 per cent to 534.85 points, receding from Friday’s record close, with Germany’s DAX leading declines among regional markets.
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“Germany is already in contraction at the end of last year and it’s got some sort of political uncertainty as well. So when you combine those factors, together with potential tariffs from the US, it leaves Germany in the worst position,” said Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index.
Despite a slowing domestic economy, the Stoxx 600 outperformed the US S&P 500 at the start of the year on expectations that a weaker euro could benefit European companies that are dependent on export revenues.
Automakers sank 2.4 per cent and led sectoral declines, with Porsche AG, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis in the red.
Analysts fear tariffs on Mexico could be more damaging for European carmakers and their suppliers than any direct tariffs on EU goods.
China-exposed luxury goods makers also fell following the tariff announcement, with LVMH and Kering down 1.9 per cent and 3.8 per cent, respectively.
Basic Resources fell 1 per cent as most metal prices slipped following Trump’s 10 per cent tariff on imports from top metals consumer China.
Spirits makers such as Heineken, Pernod Ricard SA and UK’s Diageo lost between 1.3 per cent and 2.2 per cent.
Meanwhile, euro zone bonds rose, as investors rushed to safer assets. Swiss lender Julius Baer dropped 12.7 per cent to log its steepest one-day decline in a decade after announcing plans to cut its workforce by about 5 per cent, raising concerns about its outlook.
LightOn slipped 5.4 per cent after the French generative AI startup missed the 2024 revenue target due to a delayed signing of some contracts.
Also in focus was the 2025 French budget bill, which French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou pushed through parliament by using a special constitutional power. The benchmark CAC 40 index was down 1.2 per cent. REUTERS
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