Equities slide as Trump revives trade war fears
Global stock markets fell on Monday after US President Donald Trump sparked fears of a renewed trade war with China over its role in the coronavirus pandemic.
From the outset, European equities kicked lower on simmering US-China tensions with Frankfurt and Paris, down well over three percent, playing catch-up with London after a long holiday weekend.
"Risk sentiment is very fragile as we enter another critical week in terms of economic and corporate data. Tail risks are rising and Donald Trump's attacks on China are really not helping," Swissquote Bank analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya told AFP.
The region's losses came as millions of Europeans emerged from lockdown on Monday, with Italy, the continent's hardest-hit country, leading the way out of its two-month coronavirus confinement.
- 'Quite a bit of worry' -
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones index was down by around 250 points moments after the opening bell.
"That economic data are not good is no surprise for investors, but that quite a hefty Chinese-American standoff is being piled onto the pandemic, that is sparking quite a bit of worry," JP Morgan AM strategist Vincent Juvyns told AFP.
Oil prices declined from last week's surge, while the US dollar was on the front foot against the European single currency.
Trump had hinted he could impose new tariffs on China over its handling of the virus outbreak, claiming he had seen evidence linking a Wuhan lab to the contagion.
The claim, repeated by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, overshadowed a further slowdown in the number of infections and deaths from COVID-19.
- 'Trade war drums' -
It also comes as Trump faces a tough fight to be re-elected in November with the economy slumping and millions of Americans losing their jobs because of the virus crisis.
"President Trump is back beating the trade war drums... and increasing the odds of a significant volatility risk event as all roads lead back to trade and tariff," said AxiCorp's Stephen Innes.
READ: China says Pompeo 'insane' over virus lab origin theory
He added that "while the market is already factoring in a less globalised world during the initial phase of the post-pandemic recovery as economies internalise, rekindling a dormant US-China trade war will likely make any economic improvement exponentially more difficult. And ripping up the trade agreement will trigger a global equity market rout."
- Key figures around 13:30 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 5,751.84 points
Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 3.5 percent at 10,478.35
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 3.9 percent at 4,394.85
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 3.6 percent at 2,823.74
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.0 percent at 23,481.41
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 4.2 percent at 23,613.80 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.6 percent at $26.01 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.7 percent at $19.25
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0926 from $1.1046 at 2100 GMT on Friday
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 106.88 yen from 106.91
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2429 from $1.2506
Euro/pound: UP at 87.93 pence from 87.81