Finance
European stocks close week lower on Trump's EU, Apple tariff threats
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on May 23, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on May 23, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
European stocks fell as Trump threatened tariffs on the EU and Apple, sparking fears of a global trade war. STOXX 600 and DAX indices declined.
By Sruthi Shankar, Medha Singh, Ragini Mathur and Purvi Agarwal
(Reuters) -European shares closed sharply lower on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up threats of tariffs on the European Union and smartphone giant Apple, reigniting fears of a damaging global trade war.
Trump said he is recommending a straight 50% tariff on goods from the EU starting on June 1, which would result in stiff levies on luxury items, pharmaceuticals and other goods. He also threatened Apple with a 25% tariff on any iPhones sold, but not manufactured, in the United States.
"This latest move threatens a full-scale escalation of the global trade war. European markets will suffer, undoing some of the strong momentum we have seen in recent months," Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter, said.
"What happens next is anyone's guess, but it is unlikely the EU simply rolls over following this latest development."
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.9% lower, and marked a weekly decline, its first in six. The index logged its biggest one-day fall since April 9.
A gauge of euro zone stocks took a sharper 1.5% hit, with declines on London's FTSE 100 contained, as the country clinched a trade deal with the U.S. earlier this month.
The Euro STOXX Volatility index spiked to its highest in more than three weeks.
The STOXX 600 had recovered from its early April slump after trade deals between the U.S. and some trading partners had calmed worries over trade tensions.
On Friday, automobiles and parts , expected to take the biggest hit from tariffs, led broader declines with a 3.1% fall. Economically-sensitive banks shed 1.8%, while an index of luxury goods dropped 2.7% as they are highly exposed to the U.S. market.
Germany's DAX fell 1.5% after coming within spitting distance of a record high earlier in the day when data had shown that the country's economy grew significantly more in the first quarter than previously estimated.
Indexes in France, Spain and Italy, were down more than 1% each.
The benchmark 10-year European government bond yield dropped along with its U.S. counterpart on raised concerns about slowing economic growth. [GVD/EUR]
Traders bet on more interest rate cuts from the European Central Bank, expecting the deposit rate to reach 1.60% by December from 1.72% before Trump's comments.
British investment platform AJ Bell jumped 8.4% after it posted a 12% year-over-year rise in half-yearly profit before tax, benefiting from increased client activity.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar, Purvi Agarwal and Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Mrigank Dhaniwala, Leroy Leo and Andrew Heavens)
Trump threatened a straight 50% tariff on goods from the EU starting on June 1, which would significantly impact luxury items, pharmaceuticals, and other goods.
European shares closed sharply lower, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index down 0.9%, marking its first weekly decline in six weeks.
The automobiles and parts sector led declines with a 3.1% fall, while economically-sensitive banks shed 1.8%.
Traders are betting on more interest rate cuts from the European Central Bank, with expectations for the deposit rate to drop to 1.60% by December.
Germany's DAX fell 1.5% after nearing a record high earlier in the day, driven by stronger-than-expected economic growth data.
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