European stock markets opened lower on Friday as global markets braced for U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on automakers set to take effect on April 2.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.13% lower shortly after the opening bell. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was marginally higher, while France’s CAC 40 was down 0.4%. The German Dax was 0.5% lower.
Shares of French video game publisher Ubisoft were nearly 9% higher by 9:40 a.m. London time after Chinese tech giant Tencent announced it would take a $1.25 billion stake in a new subsidiary focusing on Ubisoft’s gaming brands Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six.
Elsewhere, Trump’s new tariffs on foreign automakers are weighing on markets, with the president announcing on Wednesday 25% duties on all cars “not made in the United States” which are set to go into effect from April 2.
Trump also threatened to impose “far larger” tariffs on the European Union and Canada if they worked together to combat duties from the U.S.
On the data front, traders will await inflation data from France and Spain, with retail sales data set to come from the U.K.
U.S. stock futures inched higher on Friday as investors awaited the personal consumption expenditures index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation reading.
Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell on Friday as tariff threats kept investors on edge.