Trump Announces New Tariff Policy, European Stocks Fall in Early Monday Trading

　　Key Points

• European stock markets closed higher last week after the US Supreme Court overturned most of Trump’s “reciprocal” tariff policies.
• Over the weekend, Trump announced plans to introduce a new global unified 15% tariff to replace the previous 10% rate.
• JD Sports shares rose on news of a share buyback.
• Rolls-Royce shares fell ahead of Thursday’s earnings report.
• US stock index futures indicate a weak opening.

　　Global markets responded differently to US President Trump’s latest global tariff policy, with European stocks opening lower at the start of the week.

　　The pan-European Stoxx 600 Index fell 0.3%, with most sectors and major exchanges trending down.

　　Major European Stock Index Performance

• France CAC 40 Index: 8,517.14 points, +1.65 points (+0.02%)
• Italy FTSE MIB Index: 46,810.64 points, +337.66 points (+0.73%)
• UK FTSE 100 Index: 10,688.66 points, +1.77 points (+0.02%)
• Germany DAX Index: 25,147.66 points, -113.03 points (-0.45%)
• Spain IBEX 35 Index: 18,308.80 points, +122.80 points (+0.68%)
• Pan-European Stoxx 600 Index: 629.01 points, -1.55 points (-0.25%)

　　After the US Supreme Court overturned most of Trump’s “reciprocal” tariff policies, European stocks closed higher last week. However, over the weekend, Trump announced he would introduce a new global unified 15% tariff to replace the previous 10% rate.

　　Trump posted on the “Truth Social” platform that the new tariffs are “effective immediately,” and warned on Saturday that more tariffs would be imposed in the future.

　　He wrote: “As President of the United States, I am immediately raising the global 10% tariff to the highest level allowed by law and judicial review—15%. For decades, many countries have been ‘exploiting’ the US and have never paid the price (until I took office!).”

　　Stock Moves

• JD Sports: Shares of UK sports retailer JD Sports led gains on the Stoxx 600, rising nearly 4%. The company announced on Monday it would return approximately £200 million ($270 million) to investors through a share buyback program.
• Rolls-Royce: Shares of UK aerospace and defense giant Rolls-Royce were down 0.6%. Reports say the company is preparing to launch a new £1.5 billion share buyback plan in its annual report to be released on Thursday. A Rolls-Royce spokesperson declined to comment.
• Johnson Matthey: Specialty chemicals producer Johnson Matthey’s shares plunged 12%, leading declines among European indexes. Previously, the company agreed to cut the sale price of its catalyst technologies business by a quarter to £1.3 billion.

　　Trading started off quietly this week, with no earnings releases on Monday. Major European companies such as UK beverage giants and German sports brand Puma will report results later this week.

　　Economic Data and Global Markets

　　On the data front, Germany’s IFO Business Climate Index and the latest inflation data from Italy will be released today.

　　US stock index futures fell on Sunday night due to concerns that new tariff policies could exacerbate inflation and global growth uncertainties. Despite the tariff uncertainty, Asia-Pacific markets generally rose overnight.

Editor: Guo Mingyu