European stocks suffered significant losses during trading on Tuesday, amid a strong aversion to risk in the European market. This came in light of the U.S. tariffs against China, Canada, and Mexico coming into effect today, which was met with retaliatory measures against the United States, increasing market fears regarding the escalation of global trade wars.
On another front, the decline in European stocks was driven by rising tensions between the United States and Europe over tariffs, along with shifting stances regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war.
It seems that the United States is seeking to end the war in collaboration with Russia at Ukraine's expense, as the U.S. aims to strike a deal over minerals in Ukraine to recoup the substantial funding it provided to Ukraine, while Europe continues to support Ukraine by all means so far.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented a plan to rearm the continent on Tuesday, aiming to strengthen defense capabilities across the bloc by providing a €150 billion loan facility to assist countries in investing in joint defense projects.
Amid these events and rising tensions, the European stock index dropped significantly today, with the Euro Stoxx 600 index falling by about 1.70% to 553.60 points.
Below is the performance of European stock indices during trading:
The German DAX index lost about 629.89 points, to reach 22,518.13 points. The French CAC 40 index recorded a level of 8,047.40 points, with a drop of 1.86%. Meanwhile, the British FTSE 100 index rose by about 0.79% to settle near the level of 8,801.66 points. The Italian FTSE MIB index remained at 37,836.24 points, losing about 1,231.93 points. The Spanish Ibex fell by 2.31%, recording about 13,064.60 points.
