European stocks head for lower open, with EU tariff letter expected from White House

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index notched a fourth daily gain on Thursday, but IG futures are pointing to a broadly negative open for major bourses on Friday.

The big news overnight is that U.S. President Donald Trump will lift tariffs on imports from Canada to 35% from Aug. 1, and warned that the duty might be increased if Ottawa retaliates. The rate is separate from sectoral tariffs placed on steel, aluminum and autos, and shortly copper.

Investors are also standing by in anticipation of the release of a letter from Trump in which he is expected to outline tariffs the European Union will face, after he told NBC News that he would be issuing tariffs "over the next couple of hours" to both the EU and Canada. 

— Jenni Reid, Michael Considine