World stocks slid on Monday, June 18, and U.S. oil prices slumped after U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on Chinese goods and Beijing responded with similar measures in an escalating trade dispute.
Fears the spat between the world’s two largest economies could intensify added to pressure on oil prices, which extended Friday’s big fall into the start of week, while the dollar retreated from a seven-month high against a basket of currencies. .DXY
The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS, which tracks shares in 47 countries, fell 0.3 percent, nearing a seven-day low.
Trump announced tariffs on Friday on $50 billion of Chinese imports, including cars, starting on July 6.
China said it would retaliate immediately by slapping duties on American export products, including crude oil, and suspend all previous trade agreements with Trump’s administration.
The exchange of blows between Washington and Beijing has heightened fears of a protracted dispute that could hurt global growth and particularly Europe, given that Trump has signaled he wants to impose tariffs on automotive exports.
Those concerns saw European bourses start the week in the red, after Asian shares fell early on Monday to a 2-1/2 week low.
Futures on main euro zone benchmarks were trading down 0.2-0.5 percent as investor angst about the outlook for economic growth filtered through to European stocks.
The pan-regional STOXX 600 was on track to relinquish gains recorded on Thursday when a dovish European Central Bank pushed back expectations for an interest rate hike.
Germany’s DAX .GDAXI was down 1.36 percent while France’s CAC 40 .FCHI declined 1.23 percent, Reuters reports.
