US President Donald Trump car tariff threat puts pressure on stock markets

Trump calls Zelensky a dictator, NZ banks face rate cut pressure, police recruitment struggles, and media job losses deepen.

Global stocks were under pressure after US President Donald Trump broadened his tariff threats, leaving European bourses lower even as the S&P 500 notched a fresh record.

Trump warned the previous day he would impose tariffs “in the neighbourhood of 25%” on auto imports and a similar amount or higher on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.

“Understandably this has helped drive European carmakers lower, with the likes of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and VW losing ground,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.

European markets all dropped, with London hit by higher-than-expected inflation figures.

Tariff threats also knocked auto firms and semiconductor manufacturers in Tokyo, dragging the index into the red.

Wall Street indices veered in and out of negative territory throughout the session before finishing higher.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% to its second straight closing high.

“A new high, even by the narrowest of margins, is still a new high, and all new highs are positive,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.

“The resilience of the market remains encouraging, adding confidence to the continuation of its upward trajectory.”

China - a key target in Trump’s tariffs policy - told the World Trade Organisation on Tuesday that the United States risked triggering inflation, market distortions and even a global recession.

The tariff threats added to market uncertainty since Europe and Kyiv were excluded from the first high-level talks between the US and Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Frankfurt’s DAX 40 index set another record high during morning trading, but broke a two-week winning streak ahead of weekend elections.

“The uncertainty surrounding the election is likely to negatively impact short-term price developments,” said CMC Markets analyst Konstantin Oldenburger.

Donald Trump speaks at the FII (Future Investment Initiative) PRIORITY Miami 2025 Summit in Miami Beach, Florida, on Wednesday. Photo / AFP

Asian markets struggled for direction, with Hong Kong dragged lower by tech firms after Chinese internet giant Baidu’s fourth-quarter earnings involved a fall in revenue and a warning of near-term pressures.

The sector has helped the Hang Seng Index surge around 15% since the turn of the year, spurred by the emergence of Chinese start-up DeepSeek’s new chatbot that has upended the AI universe.

President Xi Jinping’s meeting with China’s top business leaders this week, including Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma, added to the optimism amid hopes of a fresh boost for the private sector.

The Shanghai stock market rose while Taipei was weighed by a sell-off in chip giant TSMC.

In other company news, Swiss mining and commodity trading giant Glencore dropped more than 6% on London’s FTSE 100 after it reported a net loss for 2024.

Shares in Dutch medical device maker Philips dropped more than 11% on the Amsterdam stock exchange after it posted worse-than-expected losses.

Key figures around 10.30 NZT

New York - Dow: UP 0.2% at 44,627.59 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.2% at 6,144.15 (close)

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.1% at 20,056.25 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6% at 8,712.53 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.2% at 8,110.54 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.8% at 22,433.63 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3% at 39,164.61 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1% at 22,944.24 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.8% at 3,351.54 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0428 from $1.0446 on Tuesday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2582 from $1.2613

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 151.40 from 152.06 yen

Euro/pound: FLAT at 82.81 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6% at $72.25 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3% at $76.04 per barrel