Europe open: Auto stocks battered as Trump imposes 25% tariffs

(Sharecast News) - European shares slumped at the open on Thursday as US President Donald Trump said he would hit all car and related parts imports with 25% tariffs from April 2. The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was down by more than 1% in early deals. Germany's DAX fell 1.58%, France's CAC 40 was off 1.23%, Italy's MIB 1.58% and in Spain's the IBEX 35 was 1% lower.

Shares in auto and car parts makers were hammered immediately, following similar batterings for sector peers globally.

Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen and Daimler Truck all slumped. Among suppliers, Valeo and Continental were among the heaviest fallers.

"The bearish sentiment across US equities is now expanding into European equities ... investors are faced with the ugly truth of hectic tariff policies," said Swissquote Bank analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.

"The Stoxx retreated 0.70% on Wednesday on the back of the growing tensions ahead of the April 2nd tariff deadline. But focusing on April 2nd doesn't make sense. There will be a lot of April 2nds in the next four years."

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com