London stock market opens 100 points down on Manic Monday as world braces for Trump tariffs

The FTSE-100 opened much than 100 points down contiguous connected a “Manic Monday” archetypal time of trading since Donald Trump announced tariffs connected Mexico, Canada and China.

In aboriginal trading the the City’s bluish spot scale dropped 112 points oregon astir 1.3% to 8561.55 pursuing dense falls successful Asian markets overnight. The lb slumped astir a cent against the dollar astatine $1.228 portion the terms of Bitcoin dropped 2.4% to $95.315.

In Europe Germany ‘s DAX and France’s CAC 40 some opened astir 2% down.

Earlier Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index plummeted much than 1000 points oregon conscionable implicit 2.6% to 38,520 aft Donald Trump confirmed helium volition beryllium slapping 25% tariffs connected imports into the US from Canada and Mexico and a 10% import taxation connected goods from China with effect from tomorrow. These 3 countries marque up astir 40% of imported US goods, worthy astir $1.35 trillion. All person threatened to respond with retaliatory tariffs of their own.

The US President has besides Trump has besides threatened imaginable tariffs against the European Union “pretty soon” but said helium hoped the measures against the UK could beryllium avoided.

The Chinese markets are inactive closed for the Lunar New Year vacation but shares successful Australia, South Korea and Hong Kong each fell heavily.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.8% to 8,379.40, South Korea’s Kospi dropped 2.5% to 2,453.95. though Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index recovered to beryllium conscionable 0.4% down.

Meanwhile the US dollar climbed arsenic overmuch arsenic 1.4% against a handbasket of currencies earlier paring its gains to 1.1 per cent.

Yeap Jun Rong, marketplace strategist astatine IG, said: “The implications for commercialized restrictions could effect successful reduced planetary commercialized flows, proviso concatenation shifts which could mean higher costs for businesses, and higher inflation.”

Tariff worries helped propulsion semipermanent enslaved yields higher, including the 10-year Treasury, which roseate to 4.54% Friday from 4.52% precocious Thursday. Yields person been mostly climbing since September arsenic the U.S. system has remained overmuch much robust than economists expected.

Deutsche Bank analysts said successful a enactment this morning: “Standby for a manic Monday arsenic the satellite tries to travel to presumption with the “shock” tariff announcements from Mr Trump’s medication connected Saturday night. I accidental daze but each Trump did was travel done connected precisely what he’s been saying he’s going to bash since November. The marketplace has refused to instrumentality that menace earnestly though, wholly under-pricing the risks. So, this leaves the play quality arsenic a terrible shock.”

Investment slope Peel Hunt said successful a note: “Our telephone that US maturation volition dilatory from 2.8% YoY successful 2024 to 2.1% successful 2025 factors successful immoderate antagonistic deed from commercialized wars. However, if enslaved markets respond severely to the hazard of an escalating tit-for-tat tariff war, US momentum could dilatory by much than we anticipate.”

The economical squad astatine Nomura researchers said: “US tariffs volition beryllium a deed to European growth; we estimation the nonstop interaction from 10% tariffs volition deed European maturation by astir 0.3pp cumulative implicit 2025-26, with the hazard of much from uncertainty. If Trump imposes tariffs connected Europe much successful enactment with levels present expected connected Canada and Mexico, the nonstop interaction is evidently going to beryllium higher.”