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European stock markets were heading for a lower open on Friday, with investors still reeling from the scale of U.S. tariffs announced this week.
The regional Stoxx 600 index closed 2.57% lower on Thursday, as the world digested the steep duties slapped by U.S. President Donald Trump on more than 180 countries, bringing fears of a global trade war to a boiling point.
Among the hardest-hit sectors on Thursday were retailers, with the Stoxx Luxury 10 index down 5.2% in its worst session for nearly four years, and banks, which plunged 5.53%. Shares of shipping giants Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, bellwethers for the health of the global economy, both fell more than 9%.
The sweeping tariffs were particularly severe on export-reliant, developing economies in Asia which produce garments and other consumer goods for the rest of the world, as a spike in prices remains widely expected. Trump's 25% tariffs on imported vehicles to the U.S. also took effect this week, joining his duties on steel and aluminum.
The euro saw strong gains against the U.S. dollar following the announcements, and was at a six-month high of $1.1067 on Friday morning.
Economists are still scrambling to assess the scale of the total fallout, which will depend on how long tariffs remain in their existing form and on how other nations retaliate.
The European Union on Thursday said it would prepare countermeasures against the U.S., if negotiations fail. French President Emmanuel Macron urged French companies to pause planned investments in the U.S., and acting German economy minister Robert Habeck said Trump would "buckle under pressure" if Europe bands together in its response.
The EU was hit with 20% tariffs, while the U.K. will have a rate of 10%, Norway of 15%, and Switzerland of 31%.
Economists at Goldman Sachs said in a Friday note that while the U.K.'s tariffs were lower than the others, they were nonetheless higher than expected, leading to a lower growth forecast for the British economy, down from 0.8% to 0.7% this year. The investment bank also trimmed its growth outlooks for Switzerland, Sweden and Norway.
BP chair Helge Lund to step down
British oil major BP on Friday said its chair Helge Lund will step down, kickstarting a succession process with support from the wider board.
— Sam Meredith
Reciprocal tariffs to cost the tech sector nearly $100 billion, says CreditSights
CreditSights estimated that U.S. President Donald Trump's "reciprocal tariffs" would cost the technology sector nearly $100 billion based on the proposed rates for each country and the value of U.S. tech imports last year.
The estimate, released in a research note, excludes tariffs already enacted by the U.S., such as a 20% rate hike on China and 25% on Mexico and Canada for non-compliant USMCA goods.
The financial research firm said that the latest round of tariffs would also have a disproportionate impact on smartphones, specifically Apple, given its reliance on China for manufacturing.
It added that while Apple has been diversifying its supply chains to Vietnam and India, this will provide little relief as those countries will have 46% and 26% reciprocal tariffs, respectively.
— Dylan Butts
Goldman Sachs cuts oil price forecasts by $5 per barrel
Goldman Sachs slashed its price forecast for both Brent and WTI benchmarks on the back of tariff escalation and higher supply from OPEC+.
"Our annual average forecasts are now $69/66 for Brent/WTI in 2025 and $62/59 in 2026. We no longer forecast a price range, because price volatility is likely to stay elevated on higher recession risk," the investment bank's analysts wrote in a note.
Global benchmark Brent slipped 0.41% to $69.85 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were 0.45% lower at $66.65 per barrel.
—Lee Ying Shan
The biggest winners and losers in Europe as Trump announces sweeping tariffs
Global markets, businesses and long-standing geopolitical relationships were thrown into disarray on Thursday, the day after U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policy — and Europe was not spared from the chaos.
The European Union has been hit with 20% duties, while the U.K. was hit with a lower 10%, benefiting from its more balanced U.S. trade relationship. All eyes will now be on how far policymakers will go in their response, and how deeply the conflict can escalate.
Most analysts agree that, from an economic perspective, there are few — or perhaps no — economic winners from the expected slowdown in growth and the fracturing of trade ties.
Some bright spots nevertheless emerged among European assets on Thursday — as well as some deeply negative ones.
— Chloe Taylor, Jenni Reid, Sam Meredith
Eight OPEC+ producers accelerate crude oil output hikes, pushing oil prices down 6%
Eight key OPEC+ producers on Thuesday agreed to raise combined crude oil output by 411,000 barrels per day, speeding up the pace of their scheduled hikes and pushing down oil prices.
The Ice Brent contract with June delivery was trading at $70.50 per barrel at 1:32 p.m. London time (8:32 a.m. ET), down 5.94% from the Wednesday close. The front-month May Nymex WTI contract was at $67.11 per barrel, 6.41% lower.
Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman met virtually to review global market conditions and decided to raise collective output by 411,000 barrels per day, starting in May. The group was widely expected to implement an increase of just under 140,000 barrels per day next month.
The May hike agreed on Thursday is "equivalent to three monthly increments," OPEC said in a statement, adding that "the gradual increases may be paused or reversed subject to evolving market conditions.
— Ruxandra Lordache
English (US)