US President Trump can be seen on a screen at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in front of the DAX curve.
Boris Roessler | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
European shares opened firmly in positive territory on Monday, as investors reacted to U.S. President Donald Trump delaying the roll out of 50% tariffs on the European Union.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 gained around 1% shortly after the opening bell, with all sectors in positive territory.
The French CAC 40 added 1.3%, while Germany’s DAX was 1.8% higher during early trade. U.K. markets are closed for a public holiday.
European autos stocks rebounded from a 3% loss in the previous session to trade 1.7% higher on Monday morning. The industry is particularly sensitive to the threat of U.S. tariffs, given that vehicles and machinery are the EU’s biggest export to the United States.
German carmakers saw broad gains, with BMW up 1.4%, Mercedes-Benz gaining 1.5%, and Volkswagen jumping 1.5%.
Trump initially called on Friday for a 50% tariff on EU goods, saying in a post on his Truth Social platform that the duties would begin from June 1. He accused the bloc of being “very difficult to deal with,” and said trade negotiations with the EU were “going nowhere.”
On Sunday, Trump then said he had agreed to delay the 50% tariffs to July 9 following a call from EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Von der Leyen said in a post on X over the weekend that the EU was “ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively.”
Overnight in Asia, shares were trading in mixed territory, with Japanese and South Korean stocks moving higher as Chinese and Hong Kong-listed shares saw losses.
U.S. markets are closed on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday. Stocks on Wall Street sold off on Friday after Trump’s threat to impose new tariffs on the EU and tech giant Apple.
— CNBC’s Erin Doherty contributed to this report.