European stocks post weekly losses as trade war concerns resurface

European stocks turned lower at the close of trading on Friday, posting weekly losses as investor concerns over the trade war resurfaced following US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose 50% tariffs on imports from the European Union.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index pared losses at the end of the session, falling 0.95% to 545.13 points, bringing its weekly losses to 0.7%. The French CAC 40 index fell 1.65% to 7,734 points, the British FTSE (LON:LSEG) 100 index fell 0.25% to 8,717 points, and the German DAX fell 1.55% to 23,629 points.

This decline was due to heavy losses incurred by the automotive sector, which fell by about 31%, and the banking sector, which lost about 1.8%.

As for individual stocks, Mercedes-Benz shares fell by 3.65% to reach €50.71, while BMW shares fell by 3.25% to record €75.62.

Stellantis shares fell by 3.75% to €8.82, Porsche shares fell by 4.25% to reach €42.14, and Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p) shares fell by 2.55% to reach €42.14. 93.94 euros, and Renault (EPA:RENA) by 1.15% to 47.59 euros.