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European stocks were set to open lower on Wednesday, with markets struggling to maintain Tuesday's positive momentum as country-specific tariffs from the U.S. started taking effect.
The regional Stoxx 600 index had closed in the green on Tuesday, snapping a four-day loosing streak. The move higher came after Asia-Pacific stocks had kicked off a global equity rebound, which U.S. stocks also initially joined before pulling back.
Unease about the fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and retaliatory measures from the U.S.' trading partners weighed on markets as concerns about more duties being announced grew and uncertainty persisted.
Trump on Tuesday suggested the U.S. would soon announce "a very major tariff on pharmaceuticals," and tripled the previously announced tariff rates on low-value packages exported to the U.S. from China via the international postal system.
A slew of tariffs came into effect just after midnight stateside, with duties being enforced on imports from dozens of countries. The measures include a 104% tariff on Chinese imports.
Some targeted countries are expected to hit back at the United States, including Canada, which on Tuesday reconfirmed plans to impose 25% retaliatory tariffs on U.S.-made vehicles.
U.S. stock futures were last lower as investors braced themselves for potentially another rollercoaster day on Wall Street. Asia-Pacific markets also widely fell Wednesday.
— CNBC's Christina Wilkie contributed to this report.
German short-term bonds rally
The yield on German government bonds — known as bunds — with short maturity terms fell on Wednesday morning, with investors scrambling to find safety as global equity markets resumed their sell-off.
Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
By 7:24 a.m. in London, the 2-year bund yield had shed 8 basis points, while the yield on 5-year bunds was 4 basis points lower. Yields on longer term bunds rose, however, with the 10-year bund, seen as a benchmark for the euro zone, adding 2 basis points. The yield on the 20-year bund added 4 basis points.
Elsewhere in Europe, bond yields rose, with French 10-year yields adding 8 basis points, Swiss 10-years gaining 7 basis points and Italian 10-year yields rising by 13 basis points.
Some U.K. government bonds, known as gilts, also bucked the trend, with the yield on 5-year gilts falling by around 2 basis points and 10-year gilt yields also moving marginally lower.
Further afield, U.S. Treasury yields surged, with 5-year and 10-year Treasury yields gaining 10 and 15 basis points, respectively, while 20- and 30-year Treasury yields jumped by around 19 basis points.
— Chloe Taylor
European pharmaceutical giants warn of ‘risk of exodus to the U.S.’
Boxes of Ozempic and Wegovy made by Novo Nordisk at a pharmacy in London on March 8, 2024.
Hollie Adams | Reuters
European pharmaceutical chiefs warned on Tuesday that tens of billions of dollars are at "risk of exodus to the U.S." without "rapid, radical policy change."
Industry lobby group EFPIA — whose members include Novo Nordisk, Bayer and Novartis — said around 50.6 billion euros ($55.9 billion) in capital expenditure investments and 52.6 billion in research and development expenditure was at risk.
Industry CEOs polled by the organization said they wanted immediate action from the EU aimed at developing a competitive market, strengthening intellectual property provisions and implementing regulation that is "conducive to innovation."
"Europe needs to make a serious commitment to invest in a world class pharmaceutical ecosystem, or at best, risk being reduced to a consumer of other region's innovation," EFPIA said in a statement.
— Chloe Taylor
European stocks head for lower open
European stocks were headed for a lower open on Wednesday after finishing the day in positive territory on Tuesday.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 was last set to fall 187 points to 7,701, the French CAC 40 was on track to shed 232 points to 6,861, and Germany's DAX was on course to fall 668 points to 19,581, according to IG data. Italy's FTSE MIB was set to lose 1,379 points to 31,627.
— Sophie Kiderlin
South Korea's Kospi enters bear market territory
South Korea's Kospi lost 20% from its July high, confirming a bear market.
The benchmark is currently down by over 1%. Amongst the index heavyweights, SK Hynix is down over 3% and Samsung Biologics is 0.9% lower.
Just last Monday, South Korea lifted the longest short-selling ban in the country's history, after tightening measures to crack down on illegal transactions.
—Lee Ying Shan
S&P 500 is inches from bear market territory
The S&P 500's 1.6% decline during regular trading on Tuesday has brought the broad market index nearly 19% off of its February closing record, which is just inches away from a bear market.
A decline of 20% from a previous record high constitutes a bear market on Wall Street. The index needs to slip a further 1.35% to officially enter a bear market.
— Brian Evans
Stock futures slide
Stock futures fell on Tuesday, as investors prepare for President Donald Trump's tariffs on 86 countries, including China, that are set to take effect at midnight.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 284 points, or 0.74%. Nasdaq-100 futures declined 0.88%, while S&P 500 futures pulled back 0.89%.
— Brian Evans
English (US)