European Markets Close Mixed After Seeing Early Weakness

4th Apr 2018 18:03

BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (Alliance News) - After coming under pressure early in the session, the major European markets turned mixed over the course of the trading day on Wednesday.

While the UK's FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1%, the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.2% and the German DAX Index fell by 0.4%.

The early weakness came amid renewed trade war concerns after China issued a list of 106 US products that will be subject to additional tariffs.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said it plans to impose a 25% tariff on USD50 billion worth of US exports, including aircraft, cars, soybeans, and whiskey.

The announcement by China came shortly after the US Trade Representative published a proposed list of products imported from China that could be subject to additional tariffs.

The publication of the list came as President Donald Trump announced last month that he planned to impose about USD50 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods over intellectual-property violations.

The USTR said the sectors subject to the proposed tariffs include industries such as aerospace, information and communication technology, robotics, and machinery.

While critics have complained the administration's policies risk starting a trade war, Trump argued in a post on Twitter that the war had already been lost.

"We are not in a trade war with China, that war was lost many years ago by the foolish, or incompetent, people who represented the US," Trump tweeted.

He added, "Now we have a Trade Deficit of USD500 billion a year, with intellectual property theft of another USD300 billion. We cannot let this continue!"

Steinhoff International Holdings NV tumbled 10.3% on the day. While reviewing the value of its assets following an accounting scandal, the embattled retailer said that a European real-estate portfolio may be worth about half previous estimates.

Shares of WPP also showed a notable move to the downside after the British advertising group said it is investigating allegations of personal misconduct against its chief executive Martin Sorrell.

In economic news, data from Eurostat showed Eurozone inflation accelerated in March, largely on food prices. Inflation rose to 1.4% in March from 1.1% in February, staying below the European Central Bank's target of "below, but close to 2%."

Another report showed that the euro area unemployment rate declined in February to the lowest since late 2008. The jobless rate fell to 8.5% in February from 8.6% in January. This was the lowest since December 2008 and in line with expectations.

UK construction activity unexpectedly contracted in March following five months of marginal growth, survey data from IHS Markit showed.

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