Closing post
Time to wrap up…
Markets have been digesting news of Trump’s latest tariff threats, this time targeting eight European countries that are not supporting his controversial push to annex Greenland.
While the US stock market was shut for the public holiday, European stocks dipped, as investors bet that European companies could suffer if exports to the US were curbed as a result.
The FTSE 100 closed down 0.39% at 10,195.35 points, while the French Cac 40 ended the day down 1.78%, Germany’s Dax fell 1.33% and Spain’s IBEX dropped 0.26%.
But while US stocks were not trading, the US dollar index took a hit, falling 0.35% against a basket of global currencies. Brent crude prices, which started the day down 0.73%, stabilised to trade flat at $64.14 on Monday afternoon.
Safe haven assets benefited amid the jitters, with spot gold prices up 1.7% at $4,673 per ounce. That was not far behind fresh records set this morning, when it rose as much as $4,689.39 per ounce.
All eyes will turn state-side tomorrow, for US reaction to the American president’s latest geopolitical pressures.
We’ll be back then. Thanks for reading -KM
'We're only seeing half the picture", with US to show full tariff reaction Tuesday
The FTSE 100 has closed down 0.39% at 10,195.35 points, while the French Cac 40 ended the day down 1.78%, Germany’s Dax fell 1.33% and Spain’s IBEX was down 0.26%.
But with US markets closed today, we’re not yet seeing the full fallout of Trump’s Greenland-retaliation tariff threats, with all eyes turning to Tuesday’s trading session.
AJ Bell’s head of financial analysis Danni Hewson says:
The fact US markets are closed for a public holiday means we’re only seeing half the picture today.
London’s blue-chip FTSE 100 was cushioned from the full impact of investor nerves over Donald Trump’s tariff threats, after shares in insurer Beazley hit a record high on news that Swiss rival Zurich had tabled an offer to snap up the company.
But fears that a hard-fought trade deal between Europe and the US might now be off the cards contributed to significant falls across European indices.
There’s a chance pent-up jitters are unleashed onto markets, though with news moving quickly, any potential deal could provide momentary calm. Only time will tell.
But Hewson still warns:
Uncertainty is the biggest dampener on sentiment, and the timing of the IMF’s latest forecast could be seen as ironic.
It may have been forecasting better global growth for 2026 following tariff negotiations and AI gains, but those negotiations might as well never have taken place if they can be ripped up so easily.
Twenty-four hours is a long time in this volatile world and tomorrow could bring another huge upset if the Supreme Court rules the president did not have the power to impose reciprocal tariffs in the first place.
Whilst that might be seen by many as a good outcome, it would also create massive instability with questions about how levies could be repaid and how Donald Trump’s administration may seek to overturn or get around the decision.
