European stocks dived on Monday morning thanks to US trade tensions

pulse

April 3, 2018 2:36 PM

Stocks followed the lead of the US markets, where all three major indices fell more than 3% on Monday.

European stocks sold-off in early trade on Tuesday morning.
Stocks followed the lead of the US markets, where all three major indices fell more than 3% on Monday.
Falls were driven by President Trump's anti-tech agenda, and continued fears of a trade war between the US and China.
European markets strengthened as the day progressed, with most indices flat by around 2.30 p.m. BST.

European stocks started the second quarter on the back foot following a US market sell-off, before pulling back as the day progressed.

The majority of European indices did not trade on Monday as the continent observed Easter, but trading in the US resumed, where all three major indices saw big losses on the day.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 — which has been a lightning rod for market volatility in recent weeks — plummeted as much as 3.9% to lead all major US indexes. Meanwhile, the benchmark S&P 500 dropped as much as 3.3%, and the 30-company Dow Jones industrial average at one point slid more than 3.1%, or 759 points.

Those drops initially spread into Europe on Tuesday, with all the continent's major markets nursing losses in the first hours of trade. However, by the afternoon, stocks have recovered

"The fall in tech stocks and escalating trade tensions continued to rattle markets after the Easter break," Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM said in an email.

Here's the scoreboard just after 2.30 p.m. BST (9.30 a.m. ET):

Monday's sell-off in the US, which triggered the negative action in Europe, came ahead of the Trump administration'splan to unveilthis week a list of Chinese imports targeted forUS tariffs. The list of $50 billion to $60 billion worth of annual imports is expected to target "largely high-technology" products.

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