[BENGALURU] European shares closed higher in broad-based gains on Monday (Apr 14), as risk sentiment swelled after US President Donald Trump granted tariff exclusions on smartphones and computers imported from China, bringing some respite after weeks of turmoil.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended 2.7 per cent higher after registering its third consecutive week in the red on Friday, with more than 96 per cent of the constituents clocking gains.
All regional indexes recorded gains, with trade-exposed Germany up 2.9 per cent, while France, Spain, and Britain also registered gains of more than 2 per cent.
Weeks of back-and-forth over tariffs have rattled global markets, dragging the benchmark index down roughly 11 per cent from its record closing high.
Financials were amongst the biggest boosts, with the banks subindex jumping 3.9 per cent. Germany’s Deutsche Bank, Britain’s Standard Chartered and Italy’s Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena led gains.
Shares of chip-related companies Infineon, ASML, and BE Semiconductor rose between 2.2 per cent and 3.4 per cent after Trump granted exclusions from tariffs on smartphones, computers and some other electronics largely imported from China on Saturday.
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Trump said on Sunday that tariffs on semiconductors would be announced over the next week and a decision on phones would be made “soon”.
“We believe markets are clearly pushing for some form of durable footing and a larger turn from the trade and tariff reset,” said Darrell Cronk, president of Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
“The problem markets are wresting with today, in our view, is the Trump administration has conflicting priorities and difficult time-horizon mismatches between geopolitical ambitions and economic and market outcomes.”
Despite Monday’s gains, the benchmark index sits almost 7 per cent away from levels seen before Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs were announced on Apr 2.
Goldman Sachs cut its 12-month price forecast for the benchmark Stoxx 600 index to 520 from 570, trimming it for the second time this month.
Later this week, the European Central Bank is set to hold its policy meeting, with markets widely anticipating a 25-basis-point rate cut.
“The case for easier monetary policy vis-a-vis March is clear. And this has been corroborated by recent comments from ECB policymakers,” said Shaan Raithatha, senior economist at Vanguard.
In company news, Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk advanced 3.7 per cent after US firm Pfizer said it had discontinued development of its experimental weight-loss pill danuglipron.
BNP Paribas climbed 4.4 per cent after the French bank lowered its return on invested capital forecast for its 5.1-billion euro (S$7.6 billion) acquisition of AXA’s asset management arm – a cut that was seen as “smaller than feared” by investors. REUTERS
