Browsing: Europe stock markets

Despite opening well this Friday morning, the three main stock indexes in Europe are now down after China announced that it will retaliate further to US tariffs – after the Trump administration confirmed the tariff on China is now 145%. 

China’s tariffs on exports to the US have risen to 125%, prompting speculation about potential retaliation and the future scope of trade relations.

You don’t have to be a business major to be interested in the stock markets, and unless you’ve been living under a rock these last few days, it’d be almost impossible for you not to have heard about a stock market crash.

Since Donald Trump announced his ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs you would have heard a lot about the stock markets, them crashing and fears of a global recession.

Here’s a simple guide to the stock markets and what they mean.

Tuesday’s newspapers are, unsurprisingly, focused on the market chaos caused by last week’s US tariffs. Several headlines look at the growing trade war between the two largest economies in the world as China retaliated with their own tariffs on the US – which led to Donald Trump telling them to back down from their tariffs or face a further 50% tariff on Wednesday. China has said it won’t back down. 

Trading has just restarted in Europe and all the main stock markets are showing a slight rebound from the previous falls.

Tuesday’s headlines continue to be dominated by the ongoing chaos caused by Donald Trump’s tariffs, especially since the US president announced that if China doesn’t retract its retaliatory tariffs, the US will impose a further 50% tariff on China – on top of the initial tariff slapped on the country. China has hinted that if Trump goes ahead with more tariffs on China, it will respond with even more tariffs, and it won’t back down. 

Much of the coverage looks at the global stock markets and their reaction. Almost $6 trillion has been wiped off the markets since the tariffs were announced last week. On Monday, the FTSE, Wall Street and the Asia-Pacific suffered heavy losses, with the S&P 500 set to enter a bear market after a 20% fall since December. The chaos has economists predicting a global recession. 

The UK stock markets are predicted to open about 2% higher today after a more positive performance from Asian markets. European and UK shares are expected to see a rebound when trading starts at 08:00 BST this morning. 

Elsewhere, a British woman gave birth to a healthy baby girl after having a womb transplant – a first for UK medicine that could benefit thousands of others.

The King and Queen have arrived in Italy for a state visit where they will meet with the Italian president and prime minister, and Charles will deliver a speech to both houses of Italy’s parliament. Prince Harry is also back in the headlines as the royal returns to Britain for a two-day court case regarding his security. 

Experts have warned investors about a ‘Black Monday’-like crash on April 7. On Sunday, U.S. stock futures plummeted, and the internet being as creative and hilarious as it is flooded Twitter/X with ‘Orange Monday’ memes.

BBC’s business editor Simon Jack was asked: Is this a stock market crash? Here’s what he has to say:

Stock markets in London, Paris, and Berlin fell on Thursday following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs. The UK has been hit with a baseline 10% while the EU has been hit with 20%.

A look at the market jitters ahead of the new round of US tariffs – with US media speculating it is set to be a blanket 20% tariff on all non-American goods.