Europe Markets Struggle to React to U.S. Trade Policy Driven Turmoil

Bridgette Randall
11 Apr, 2025
London

European markets turned early gains into losses in Friday's trading as the global tariff war intensified between the U.S. and China. 

Benchmark indexes in Frankfurt, Paris, Milan, and London declined between 1% and 4% after China retaliated with its own retaliatory tariffs. 

China slapped 125% tariffs on U.S. goods after the U.S. imposed a total of 145% tariffs on Chinese goods. 

The European Union halted its proposed tariffs for 90 days after the Trump administration paused "reciprocal tariffs" on all imports but continued with the universal tariff of 10%. 

The rapidly changing U.S. trade policy is having a chilling effect on international trade, and investors are worried that global recession risks are rising.

Moreover, China-controlled entities are lowering their holdings of U.S. Treasuries, putting upward pressure on yields and downward pressure on the U.S. dollar. 

 

Europe Indexes and Yields

The DAX index increased by 0.7% to 20,709.38, the CAC-40 index edged higher 0.8% to 7,183.20, and the FTSE 100 index advanced by 0.4% to 7,949.80.

The yield on 10-year German bonds inched higher to 2.61%, French bonds increased to 3.39%, the UK gilts moved up to 4.71%, and Italian bonds edged higher to 3.86%.

The euro increased to $1.13; the British pound was higher at $1.30; and the U.S. dollar was lower and traded at 81.64 Swiss cents.

Brent crude increased $0.62 to $63.93 a barrel, and the Dutch TTF natural gas was higher by €0.28 to €33.64 per MWh.

 

Europe Stock Movers

Flughafen Zuerich AG surged 4.4% to CHF 203.60 after the owner and operator of Zurich airport reported passenger numbers for the month of March.

Zurich Airport handled a total of 2,353,808 passengers in March, an increase of 0.6% compared to the previous year.

The number of local passengers increased by 3.2%, and transfer passengers decreased by 4.4%. The transfer rate, which was at 33.6% last March, is at 31.9% in the month under review.

In March, flight movements increased by 4.4% to 20,930 versus the previous year.

“Total turnover in March was CHF 46.5 million, down 5.4% versus the previous year,” the company said in a release to investors.

The decrease divides into a decline of 1.8% for aircraft-related revenue and a 9.8% fall in revenue related to passengers and cargo, the company added in the statement.

Stellantis NV, the parent company of Fiat, declined 5.3% to €7.55 after vehicle shipments decreased 9% in the first quarter. 

Novartis AG gained 1% to CHF 85.55, and the Swiss drugmaker announced its plans to invest $23 billion ahead of the looming tariffs on pharmaceutical imports.