European shares tumbled today, notching their biggest daily loss in eight months, on fears an escalating trade war would slam the brakes on economic growth in the wake of hefty tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump.
The CAC in Paris closed 3.3% lower at 7,598, while the DAX in Frankfurt was down 3% to 21,700 and London's FTSE index was down 1.55% to 8,474.
Dublin's ISEQ index dropped over 2% to 10,145.
Worries in the run up to "Liberation Day," as Trump termed the day of the tariff announcement, had already hit European stocks after a strong start to the year on optimism over Germany's historic stimulus boost and as investors searched for alternatives to US markets.
Among individual stocks, sporting goods makers Adidas and Puma tumbled over 11% each as their key sourcing markets were hit with steep levies.
Luxury goods firms dropped, with LVMH losing 5.6%, hurt by tariffs on the EU and Switzerland.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for European companies to suspend planned investment in the US.
On Wall Street, heavyweight technology stocks led a broad selloff today. By 6pm Irish time, the Nasdaq was down 4.86% to 16,745, while the Dow Jones was down 2.8% to 41,043 and the S&P 500 was down 3.7% to 5,461.
Investors fled from risky assets, seeking the safety of government bonds.
High-flying technology stocks, that have pushed Wall Street to record highs in recent years, suffered big declines.
Apple sank 8.4%, reeling from the impact of an aggregate 54% tariff on China, which is the base for much of the iPhone maker's manufacturing. Nvidia slumped 6.2% and Amazon.com dropped 7.4%.
"The tariff announcement was much more dire than expected and as a result stocks are in a free fall, which is due to the expected inflationary impact of these tariffs," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.
"If the Trump administration is not really willing to negotiate upfront, then we will be hit with retaliatory tariffs, and that could end up exacerbating the situation and make matters worse."
US stocks have lost ground since Trump took office in January, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq dropping 10% from their record highs last month, marking a correction, as investors priced in the damage from tariffs on the economy and businesses.
After Trump's announcements, traders are ramping up expectations for the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates four times this year, starting with a quarter-point cut in June.
