London — The threat of a global trade war sent stock markets sliding and investors rushing for the safety of currencies like the yen and government bonds on Friday, after US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on up to $60bn of Chinese goods. World stocks, down 3.4% since Monday, are on course for their worst week since early February, when a spike in volatility sent markets into a tailspin. European stocks fell at the open, with Germany’s DAX down 1.6%, the French CAC 40 1.5% lower and Britain’s FTSE 100 0.8% lower. That followed large falls in the US, with the S&P 500 shedding 2.5%, and overnight in Asia, where the Japanese Nikkei 225 was the biggest loser slumping 4.5%. Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Thursday that could impose tariffs on up to $60bn of imports from China, although the measures have a 30-day consultation period. China urged the US to "pull back from the brink", but investors fear Trump’s tariffs are leading the world’s two largest economies into a ...
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