FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The risk of further U.S. import tariffs on imports from European NATO countries weighed heavily on German automakers in pre-market trading on Monday. On Tradegate, BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche lost between approximately 4 and 6 percent compared to Friday's Xetra closing prices. The European sector index had already fallen to its lowest level since late November before the weekend.
Shares of suppliers such as Continental, Infineon, and Aumovio also came under pressure in pre-market trading on Monday.
"U.S. President Donald Trump is once again wielding the tariff stick, hitting Europe at a particularly sensitive spot," wrote analyst Frank Sohlleder of broker Activtrades. Investors are likely to painfully recall early April, when Trump unveiled his first tariff plans and the German benchmark index Dax "plunged by a staggering more than 18 percent in no time at all." With diplomatic fronts hardened in the political thriller over Greenland, it is to be expected that volatility on European stock markets is likely to increase massively./bek/err/tih
