(Sharecast News) - European shares opened lower on Friday as traders mulled the latest mood swing from US President Donald Trump on tariffs, the emergency defence summit of European Union leaders, German factory order figures and awaited American jobs data.
The pan-regional Stoxx 600 was down 0.68% to 552.10 in early deals. Germany's DAX, which has made strong gains in the week on the hopes of higher defence and infrastructure spending, was down 1.3%.

Trump on Thursday gave exempted around 50% of Mexican imports and 38% of those from Canada until April 2, a day after he granted a one-month tariff reprieve for automakers. These were announced a mere two days after the levies came into force.

Meanwhile, EU leaders were holding the second day of their summit in response to Trump's pivot away from war-torn Ukraine to its Russian invader and decision to withhold military aid and intelligence sharing. An initial communique pledged a rise in spending and relaxation of borrowing rules that could see €800bn ploughed into a new arms race as Washington redefines its relationship with Nato.

In economic news, German factory orders fell sharply in January, according to official data published on Friday, highlighting the struggles faced by Europe's largest economy.

Orders fell a larger-than-expected 7% from the previous month, with the federal statistics office citing a "significant" decline in orders for machines and vehicles such as ships and aircraft. Excluding large-scale orders, it slipped by 2.7%.

After a daily dump of corporate earnings, it was a quieter day on the equities front. Elia Group surged 16% as the electricity generator and distributor released annual results.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com

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