European stocks stayed steady on Friday, but they are expected to drop for the week because of worries about trade tensions between countries. The STOXX 600, which includes many companies from Europe, was slightly up by 0.09% in early trading. However, it went down on Thursday after the President of the U.S. threatened to impose a big 200% tax on wine and other drinks from the European Union. This was in response to the EU’s taxes on American whiskey. So far this week, the index is down more than 2%.
President Trump’s changing stance on tariffs is making investors and consumers nervous, creating a lot of uncertainty in the market. BMW saw its profits drop more than a third in 2024, causing its stock to fall by 3.7%. The auto industry index decreased by 1.3%, with Renault down 1.4%, Volkswagen down 1%, and Stellantis losing 1.2%.
Universal Music Group (UMG) dropped 10.5% after investor Bill Ackman’s company sold some of its shares. Luxury brand Kering also fell by 9.5% when Gucci announced a new artistic director, Demna, from Georgia. On the bright side, Daimler Truck’s stock went up 4% after the company predicted that its profits would grow by 5% to 15% by 2025 and started a cost-cutting program in Europe due to last year’s poor performance.
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