European shares hit hard as trade war fears spark sell-off and drop get worse as US markets join in
Markets fall over concerns that a trade war could impact the world economy
European shares slid further on Monday as investors on both sides of the Atlantic grew increasingly fearful of the threat of a global trade war and its impact on the world economy.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index dropped 2 per cent, with Britain’s FTSE and Frankfurt’s DAX down 2.3 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively.
“Things worsened as the US markets got involved this Monday”, said Connor Campbell, an analyst for Spreadex, adding that losses turned “uglier as the afternoon wore on”.
Wall Street opened deep in the red, and the Nasdaq was down 2.2 per cent by the time of the European close.
A report that US President Donald Trump planned to bar many Chinese companies from investing in US technology firms and block more tech exports to Beijing hit Asian stocks overnight.