European shares ease as trade uncertainty lingers after court blocks Trump's tariffs

By Nikhil Sharma, Purvi Agarwal and Ragini Mathur

(Reuters) -European shares eased on Thursday as initial relief that a U.S. trade court had blocked some of President Donald Trump's tariffs fizzled out.

The continent-wide STOXX 600 index closed 0.2% lower.

The Court of International Trade ruled that Trump overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports from U.S. trade partners on April 2.

In a swift response, the Trump administration filed an appeal and questioned the authority of the court.

"This does not necessarily mean tariffs are disappearing any time soon, as the federal appeals court is likely to take a more favourable view of them," said Lale Akoner, global market analyst at eToro.

"What it does signal, is the beginning of a lengthy legal battle, one that could ultimately reach the Supreme Court, a development with significant market implications."

On Sunday, Trump backtracked on his latest tariff threats towards the European Union, as Brussels stepped up efforts to secure a deal with Washington.

The ongoing tariff uncertainty saw most regional indexes close flat or lower on Thursday.

However, European shares are expected to rise slightly by the end of 2025 before reaching new highs in 2026, a Reuters poll found.

Wall Street's main indexes rose on the day, also lifted by AI bellwether Nvidia reporting a 69% surge in quarterly sales after Wednesday's closing bell.

European semiconductor companies rode the wave, with ASM International gaining 2.7%, Soitec up 3.6% and ASML Holdings also marginally higher.

Those gainers contained a decline in the broader technology index to 0.2%, after it hit its highest level since early March.

Utilities underperformed with the sector down 0.8% overall. National Grid and Severn Trent fell 3.8% and 2.3%, respectively, as the British firms traded without entitlement to their latest dividend payouts.

Shares of Auto Trader dropped 11.3% in their biggest one-day fall since March 2020 after the UK's largest automotive platform missed full-year revenue estimates. The stock was also Thursday's worst performer.

Swedish radiation therapy equipment maker Elekta extended gains from the previous session with a 5.9% rise, the day's best performer.

(Reporting by Nikhil Sharma, Purvi Agarwal and Ragini Mathur; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Kirsten Donovan)