- European and Asian markets fell on Monday ahead of President Donald Trump’s tariffs taking effect.
- The levies include a 25% charge on all imported vehicles and key car components.
- Toyota led the declines in major carmakers’ stock with a 6.8% slide in Tokyo.
Stock markets in Europe and Asia stumbled on Monday ahead of President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcements expected later this week.
The STOXX Europe 600, representing a range of companies across 17 European countries, was down about 1.5% in early afternoon trading on Monday. The UK’s FTSE 100 dipped 1.2%, France’s CAC 40 stumbled almost 1.6%, and Germany’s DAX fell close to 1.7%.
The declines come ahead of what the White House has been calling “Liberation Day” on Wednesday.
Trump is expected to announce further tariffs that could include “reciprocal” measures on countries imposing their own charges on US exports. The administration last week detailed tariffs that include a 25% charge on all imported passenger vehicles and key car parts.
Shares in carmakers suffered further declines on Monday, with Toyota sinking 6.8% in Tokyo, bringing the decline this year to almost 15% for the world’s biggest carmaker.
On Friday CLSA analysts slashed their target price for Toyota and downgraded their rating from "hold" to "underperform," citing the potential impact of tariffs on US sales.
Analysts at Bank of America wrote in a Monday note that if Trump maintains his tariffs, most global automakers "exposed to the US will need to revise their expectations down."
Nissan fell 4% and Honda lost 3%, with year-to-date losses of about 20% and 15%, respectively. In Europe, BMW and Mercedes-Benz both lost about 3%, while Volkswagen fell 3.6%.
The STOXX 600 Automobiles and Parts index, which included Ferrari, Michelin, Renault, and others, was about 2.5% lower.
US automakers were also set to fall at the open, with Elon Musk's Tesla down 4.5% premarket, after closing lower on Friday for a 30% decline since the start of the year.
GM was 1.4% lower premarket, with Ford off almost 1%.
Trump has said he "couldn't care less" if cars from foreign manufacturers become more expensive as a result of his tariffs.
Asia-Pacific markets were also down on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped about 4%, bringing its losses since the beginning of the year to nearly 11%. South Korea's KOSPI declined 3%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index closed down about 1.7%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid more than 1%.