European Stocks Drop, Oil Falls as Tariffs Kick In: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Stocks in Europe retreated on concern the region could be next to face US tariffs after President Donald Trump imposed levies on Mexico, Canada and China. 

The Stoxx 600 lost 1% at the open, while futures on the S&P 500 traded little changed after the underlying index sank the most this year on Monday. Chinese stocks edged higher on speculation the country is taking a measured approach with its retaliatory tariffs, stopping short of a full-blown trade war. 

The new levies mark Trump’s biggest push to remake global trade and investors will be watching his address to Congress Tuesday for hints on future steps. Canada announced a sweeping package of tariffs in response to the US moves and China retaliated by imposing tariffs as high as 15% on some US exports. 

“China’s hit back isn’t exactly aggressive,” said Billy Leung, an investment strategist at Global X ETFs in Sydney. That level of tariffs on “US agricultural goods, but nothing broad-based on tech or autos, suggests to me they’re leaving room for negotiation rather than going full tit-for-tat.”

Treasuries and the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index were steady. The Mexican peso fell 0.6% against the greenback, while the Canadian dollar was little changed, after retreating for seven straight sessions.  

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Trump also said Monday that the US would impose tariffs on “external” agricultural products starting on April 2, adding another layer of threats to impose trade barriers on imported goods. He didn’t detail which products would be affected, or if there would be any exceptions.

In Asia, investors are also focusing on the National People’s Congress meeting, which starts in Beijing Wednesday, amid expectations China will spell out measures to stimulate the economy. The annual session will run till March 11. 

In geopolitics, Trump ordered a pause to all military aid to Ukraine, turning up the heat on Volodymyr Zelenskiy just days after an Oval Office blowup with the Ukrainian president left the support of his country’s most important ally in doubt. 

Cryptocurrencies remained volatile after Trump stepped up calls for a digital-asset stockpile. Bitcoin declined for a second day after sinking more than 9% on Monday. The MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 100 Index slipped as much as 9.8%.

In commodities, oil extended losses from the lowest in almost three months as OPEC+ said it will proceed with plans to revive halted production. Gold steadied after having advanced the previous day. 

 

Key events this week:

• Eurozone unemployment, Tuesday
• President Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress, Tuesday
• China Caixin services PMI, Wednesday
• Eurozone HCOB services PMI, PPI, Wednesday
• US ADP employment, ISM services index, factory orders, Wednesday
• Fed’s Beige Book, Wednesday
• Eurozone retail sales, ECB rate decision, Thursday
• US trade, initial jobless claims, wholesale inventories, Thursday
• US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks, Thursday
• Fed’s Christopher Waller and Raphael Bostic speak, Thursday
• Eurozone GDP, Friday
• US jobs report, Friday
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell gives keynote speech at an event in New York hosted by University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Friday
• Fed’s John Williams, Michelle Bowman and Adriana Kugler speak, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.8% as of 8:05 a.m. London time
• S&P 500 futures were little changed
• Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.2%
• Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were unchanged
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.3%
• The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.4%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
• The euro was little changed at $1.0490
• The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 149.20 per dollar
• The offshore yuan rose 0.2% to 7.2896 per dollar
• The British pound was little changed at $1.2698

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin fell 2.3% to $83,324.95
• Ether fell 1.1% to $2,087.95

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.15%
• Germany’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 2.44%
• Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 4.52%

Commodities

• Brent crude fell 1% to $70.88 a barrel
• Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,898.36 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Jason Scott, Abhishek Vishnoi, Shery Ahn, Haidi Lun and Matthew Burgess.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.