European stock markets fall as Trump renews tariff threats; trade war would be a ‘wrecking ball’ for UK manufacturing, union says

Time to wrap up…

Markets have been digesting news of Trump’s latest tariff threats, this time targeting eight European countries that are not supporting his controversial push to annex Greenland.

While the US stock market was shut for the public holiday, European stocks dipped, as investors bet that European companies could suffer if exports to the US were curbed as a result.

The FTSE 100 closed down 0.39% at 10,195.35 points, while the French Cac 40 ended the day down 1.78%, Germany’s Dax fell 1.33% and Spain’s IBEX dropped 0.26%.

But while US stocks were not trading, the US dollar index took a hit, falling 0.35% against a basket of global currencies. Brent crude prices, which started the day down 0.73%, stabilised to trade flat at $64.14 on Monday afternoon.

Safe haven assets benefited amid the jitters, with spot gold prices up 1.7% at $4,673 per ounce. That was not far behind fresh records set this morning, when it rose as much as $4,689.39 per ounce.

All eyes will turn state-side tomorrow, for US reaction to the American president’s latest geopolitical pressures.