Pedestrians pass the Elizabeth Tower, also known as Big Ben, at the Palace of Westminster, home to the Houses of Parliament, on February 22, 2024 in London. Protect yourself from the rain with an umbrella.
Henry Nichols AFP | Getty Images
LONDON — European stock markets ended mostly lower on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to “significantly increase” tariffs on the European Union.
pan-european Stocks 600 Most sectors were in the red, with major regional securities in London, Paris, Frankfurt and Milan all ending in negative territory, down almost 0.8%.
Transatlantic trade tensions were once again on the agenda during Friday’s deal-making. In a post on Truth Social Thursday night, President Trump said he had been “patiently waiting for the EU to implement on its side” the historic trade deal the U.S. and EU agreed to last July, which cut tariffs on the European trade bloc from a threatened 30% to 15%.
Trump said in a post Thursday that the EU had promised to “deliver on the terms of the deal” and reduce tariffs on U.S. goods to zero.
“We agreed to hand her over until the 250th anniversary of the founding of our country. Otherwise, unfortunately, the tariffs will immediately jump to an even higher level,” he said of a telephone conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
In February, after President Trump said he would impose a 15% global tariff after the Supreme Court struck down the reciprocal tariff system, the EU’s top trade lawmaker told CNBC that the US had violated the terms of the deal “several times.”
Trump’s threats prompted lawmakers in Brussels to suspend a parliamentary vote on the trade deal, with one official denouncing the president’s move as “pure tariff chaos.”
Commerzbank Stocks ended 3.9% lower on Friday after the German bank reported an operating profit of 1.36 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in the first quarter.
Chief Executive Officer Bettina Orlop told CNBC that Commerzbank will protect the interests of its shareholders as it continues to fight a takeover bid by an Italian rival. unicredit. UniCredit closed more than 1% lower.
European defense stocks also fell as traders took stock of events in the Middle East. In a phone call with an ABC News reporter, President Trump said the attack was “just a love tap” and insisted the fragile ceasefire between the two countries was still in effect.
German defense giant line metal The tank parts maker fell to the bottom of the Stoxx 600, ending the day down 9.2%. Lenk It fell 6.4%. The mainstay of Italy’s defense leonardo It ended 3.2% lower.
Elsewhere, the UK is counting votes for local council elections in England and parliaments in Scotland and Wales. Early results include heavy losses for the ruling Labor Party and its main opposition party, the Conservative Party. It is widely expected that the right-wing parties Reform Britain and the left-wing Green Party will advance.
Votes are still being counted, but Labour’s significant defeat is expected to raise questions about Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s already shaky leadership. But Mr Starmer said on Friday morning: “I’m not going to walk away and throw the country into chaos.”
Yields on British government bonds, known as gold, fell on Friday afternoon. The 10-year Gilts yield, seen as the main benchmark for UK government borrowing, was little changed at 4.917%.
The British pound rose about 0.5% against the US dollar to $1.36.
