European markets opened slightly higher on Friday morning as stocks attempted to claw back some gains at the end of a very volatile week rocked by changing tariff announcements.
The UK’s FTSE 100 index was 0.5% higher at around 9:45 CEST, whereas Germany’s DAX index was up 0.6%. France’s CAC 40 index advanced 0.8% too, with the STOXX 600 index rising 0.4%.
British American Tobacco, HSBC and Barclays saw gains early Friday, while Getinge B and Zurich Insurance Group were some of the top losers.
However, market anxieties remained, despite US president Donald Trump’s recent announcement of a 90-day pause in so-called ‘reciprocal’ tariffs. Investors remain nervous about the US’ outsized tariffs on China.
Asia-Pacific markets overnight
Asia-Pacific stocks lagged on Thursday, as investor concerns about further tariff retaliations from both the US and China remained.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 closed almost 3% lower on Friday, at 33,585.58.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index was trading 0.5% higher at market close on Friday at 3,238.23.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, meanwhile, showed gains of 1.6% at around 9:45am CEST on Friday.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.8% to 7,646,50, while South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.5% on Friday.
US markets-closing prices on Thursday
US stocks closed in the red on Thursday, as investors worried about whether the escalating trade war between China and the US could potentially lead to an economic downturn.
The S&P 500 closed 3.5% lower on Thursday, with the Nasdaq 100 index also losing 4.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index closed 2.5% lower on Thursday as well.
Companies such as CarMax, United Airlines, Microchip and Monolithic saw the biggest falls, whereas Boeing, General Motors and Chevron experienced smaller losses.
Commodities and currencies
In commodities, US crude oil rose around 1% to $60.9 per barrel on Friday morning, with Brent crude oil also advanced 1.1% to $64.1 per barrel.
On the other hand, gold was up over 1% on Friday morning, pulling back slightly from record highs. The precious metal also recorded a 5.5% gain on a weekly basis.
The EUR/USD pair increased 1.4% on Friday morning, with the EUR/GBP pair rising 0.8% as well.
