Europe open: Rally stalls as investors eye latest tariff moves
By Frank Prenesti
Date: Thursday 24 Apr 2025
(Sharecast News) - European shares opened lower on Thursday ending the short-lived rally as investors digested the latest tariff gyrations from Washington and a flurry of first-quarter corporate announcements.
The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was down almost half a percent in early trade to 514 points. Germany's DAX was down the same amount while France's CAC-40 fell 0.67%.
Markets rallied on Wednesday after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted at the possibility of a "big deal" to drastically de-escalate the tariff war with China.
Bessent said the White House was prepared to discuss the reduction of trade imbalances with Beijing, after Washington slapped 145% tariffs on Chinese goods.
Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Matt Britzman said: "European markets are taking a breather this morning ... after a strong showing yesterday. The investing world is back to hanging onto every word out of the White House, but with such a confusing and often contradictory stance on tariffs, volatility is all we can really guarantee."
In equity news, Kering shares were down after the French luxury goods group and Gucci owner posted lower than expected first-quarter sales and warned of further macroeconomic headwinds.
Azelis slumped after first-quarter earnings at the chemicals and food ingredient supplier disappointed.
Nokia slumped as the telecoms firm reported first-quarter profit well below market expectations and flagged a short-term disruption from US tariffs with an estimated hit of €20m - €30m to second-quarter earnings.
Nestle shares slipped as the food giant posted better-than-expected first-quarter organic sales growth on the back of price hikes and said the indirect impact of US tariffs was "unclear".
Adidas shares rose after the German sportswear company reported first-quarter sales and profit above expectations.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN