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Early market roundup: European stocks struggle on tariff woe

Stocks in Europe opened in the red at the start of the week, as risk sentiment was low amid tariff worries, with ’liberation day’ looming large.

The FTSE 100 index was down 69.81 points, 0.8%, at 8,589.04. The FTSE 250 was down 263.99 points, 1.3%, at 19,600.99, and the AIM All-Share fell 5.39 points, 0.8%, at 691.23.

The Cboe UK 100 fell 0.8% at 856.82, the Cboe UK 250 shed 1.5% at 17,097.64, but the Cboe Small Companies rose 0.1% at 15,429.93.

The CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.9%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 1.0% lower.

In New York on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.7%, the S&P 500 slumped 2.0% and the Nasdaq Composite plunged 2.7%.

In Tokyo on Monday, the Nikkei 225 plunged 4.1%, while the S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.7%. In China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.5%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was 1.1% lower.

‘With one trading day left of the quarter, risk sentiment has drained from Asian and European stock markets,’ XTB analyst Kathleen Brooks commented.

‘’Liberation day’ for America is bad news for global stocks, and US futures are also pointing to a sharp decline for the S&P 500 later today.’

Against the dollar, the pound rose to $1.2964 early Monday, rising from $1.2945 at the time of the London equities close on Friday. The euro edged up to $1.0832 from $1.0829. Versus the yen, the dollar fell to JP¥149.09 from JP¥150.07.

US President Donald Trump declared on Saturday that he ‘couldn’t care less’ if automakers increase car prices for Americans in the wake of his imposition of import tariffs.

There have been reports that Trump threatened auto executives with reprisals if prices jump, but he told NBC News that increasing prices would simply help US-based manufacturers.

‘I couldn’t care less. I hope they raise their prices, because if they do, people are gonna buy American-made cars. We have plenty,’ he told NBC host Kristen Welker.

On Thursday, Trump imposed a blanket 25% import tariff on cars and light trucks made outside the US, due to take effect on April 3.

A barrel of Brent traded at $73.12 early Monday, rising from $72.45 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. Gold spiked to $3,122.13 an ounce from $3,081.91. It hit another record high just below $3,128 earlier Monday.

In London, tobacco firms and utilities led the way in the FTSE 100, stocks seen as defensive. Imperial Brands rose 1.3% and Severn Trent added 0.6%.

AB Foods fell 3.4%, after it said the chief executive of Primark has stepped down after a probe which followed an ‘allegation made by an individual about his behaviour towards her in a social environment’.

‘Paul Marchant cooperated with the investigation, acknowledged his error of judgement and accepts that his actions fell below the standards expected by ABF. He has made an apology to the individual concerned, the ABF bard and also to his Primark colleagues and others connected to the business,’ AB Foods said.

Aston Martin added 7.5%, after it announced Executive Chair Lawrence Stroll’s Yew Tree Consortium is proposing to up its stake in the company to 33%, from just under 28%.

Yew Tree proposed acquiring 75 million new shares at 70 pence each, a 6.4% premium to Aston Martin’s Friday closing price of 65.80p. The proposed investment is worth £52.5 million.

Pets at Home tumbled 11%. It said it expects to report annual profit in line with guidance, despite a ‘challenging and volatile UK consumer backdrop’.

The pet care firm expects underlying pretax profit of £133 million for the financial year ended March 27, ‘in line with previous guidance’. It would represent a 0.8% climb from £132.0 million the year prior.

However, for the new year, it expects a profit decline, predicting an outcome between £115 million and £125 million.

Wood Group slumped 17%. It said a probe found ‘material weaknesses and failures’ in the ‘financial culture’ of its Projects division. The ‘cultural failings’ may have led to some information being withheld from auditors, Wood Group said.

‘As a result of the review, a number of prior year adjustments are expected to be required to the income statement and balance sheet,’ the engineering and consulting business said.

This will predominantly impact the Projects unit. It expects ‘material prior year profit & loss and balance sheet adjustments’ for 2022, 2023 and the first half of 2024. For the 2024 annual results, Wood Group does not expect these to be published by April 30.

‘In that case, the company’s shares would be suspended from trading from that time as work progresses towards completion of its FY24 accounts,’ it cautioned.

‘We remain in constructive dialogue with the group’s lenders regarding refinancing options and will engage with lenders in respect of the timing of our FY24 accounts, including putting in place appropriate pre-emptive waivers under our committed debt facilities.’

Wood Group announced the probe in November. Last month, it announced cost cuts. It also said last month that Arvind Balan stepped down as finance chief, after it emerged that his professional qualifications had been incorrectly described in public statements.

Monday’s economic calendar has German inflation data at 1300 BST, after UK mortgage approvals at 0930 BST.

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