Europe midday: Stoxx pares losses, but Trump auto tariffs slam auto shares

(Sharecast News) - European shares pared losses slightly on Thursday but were still reeling from US President Donald Trump's decision to hit all car and related parts imports with 25% tariffs from April 2.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was down 0.72% at 549. Germany's DAX fell 0.91%, France's CAC 40 was off 0.55%, Italy's MIB 0.33% and in Spain the IBEX 35 was 0.16% lower.

Shares in auto and car parts makers were hammered immediately, following similar batterings for sector peers globally.

Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Stellantis and Daimler Truck all slumped. Among suppliers, Valeo and Continental were the heaviest fallers.

"The bearish sentiment across US equities is now expanding into European equities ... investors are faced with the ugly truth of hectic tariff policies," said Swissquote Bank analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.

"The Stoxx retreated 0.70% on Wednesday on the back of the growing tensions ahead of the April 2nd tariff deadline. But focusing on April 2nd doesn't make sense. There will be a lot of April 2nds in the next four years."

In other equity news, shares in Belgian materials technology company Umicore surged after it set profit targets and cut capex spend.

German commercial and industrial kitchen equipment maker Rational fell after releasing results.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com