FILE PHOTO: The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, August 16, 2019. REUTERS/Staff
August 23, 2019
LONDON (Reuters) – All major European stock bourses turned negative and trade-sensitive stocks slid sharply on Friday after China announced plans to slap import tariffs on more U.S. goods, escalating the protracted spat between the world’s top two economies.
Beijing said the new tariffs would apply to about $75 billion worth of U.S. goods.
The pan-European STOXX 600 <.STOXX> was down 0.3% and the export-heavy German blue-chip index <.GDAXI> was down 0.9% at 1227 GMT. Both indexes were trading in positive territory before the tariff announcement at 1200 GMT.
Mining companies and semiconductor makers were among the worst hit. Shares in Austrian sensor maker AMS <AMS.VI> fell 4%, STMicroelectronics slid 3.2% and Infineon <IFXGn.DE> 2.6%.
(Reporting by Thyagaraju Adinarayan; editing by Josephine Mason)