The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) and European stocks were sharply lower on Thursday in the wake of US president Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday night.

Trump confirmed the beginning of a 25% tariff on all foreign made-automobiles, as well as a 10% baseline tariff on all imports into America and sharply higher duties on several key countries.

China faces a combined tariff burden of 64% when new and existing measures are counted while Japan has been hit with a 24% duty. He announced tariffs of 10% on the UK as part of a “declaration of economic independence” by the US, with a 20% levy on imports from the EU.

The president of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen warned that the tariffs are a “major blow” to the world economy and that the plan “will be dire for millions of people around the world”.

Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com, said: “The markets are in risk-off mode and pricing in weaker global economic growth.

“The issue for markets in the coming days will be clarifying whether there’s scope for trading partners to re-negotiate these tariffs and whether there is the risk further trade restrictions are possible from here.”

• The latest analysis from Yopa, the full-service estate agents, has revealed that whilst buying schemes designed to aid homebuyers onto the ladder are in high-demand, stock availability offering such initiatives is slim.
• The research shows that: –
• Buying scheme availability is low in the current market. Across Britain as a whole, just 1.8% of homes listed for sale offer the additional boost of a buying scheme for homebuyers.
• Newcastle is home to the greatest number of opportunities for homebuyers, but homes offering a buying scheme boost still account for just 2.6% of all properties currently listed for sale. Plymouth and Portsmouth also rank highly at 2.4% and 2.2% respectively.
• In contrast, just 0.1% of homes listed for sale across Glasgow offer the additional benefit of a buying scheme.
• But whilst buying scheme availability may be sparse, additional analysis from Yopa suggests that this isn’t due to a lack of buyer appetites. Across Britain 34% of all homes offering the help of a buying scheme have already been snapped up by homebuyers.
• This level of demand climbs as high as 71.4% in Edinburgh, with Newcastle (67.9%) and Nottingham (65.5%) also home to some of the highest demand.
• The pound (GBPUSD=X) surged to a six-month high against the dollar in early European trading, as the greenback sank following US president Donald Trump’s announcement of global tariffs on Wednesday.
• Sterling was up 0.9% at $1.3109 against the dollar at the time of writing, while the US dollar index (DX-Y.NYB) — which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies — was down 1.4% to 102.42.
• Trump announced a 10% baseline tariff on imports into the US, which will come into effect on 5 April. Additional tariff rates were announced on countries that the administration considered to be the “worst offenders”, which will go into effect on 9 April.
• The UK was included on the list of countries that would face the 10% baseline tariff rate. There will be a 20% levy on imports from the EU.
• Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter, said:
• In other currency moves, the pound was down 0.2% against the euro (GBPEUR=X) on Thursday morning, trading at €1.1968.
• Global stocks are sharply lower in the wake of Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday night.
• The US president confirmed the beginning of a 25% tariff on all foreign made-automobiles, as well as a 10% baseline tariff on all imports into America and sharply higher duties on several key countries.
• China faces a combined tariff burden of 64% when new and existing measures are counted while Japan has been hit with a 24% duty. He announced tariffs of 10% on the UK as part of a “declaration of economic independence” by the US, with a 20% levy on imports from the EU.
• Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com, said:
• Stocks in Asia slumped overnight after Donald Trump announced his tariffs, with the Nikkei (^N225) down 2.8% on the day in Japan, with carmakers and banks taking big hits, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) fell 1.6% in Hong Kong.
• The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 0.2% down by the end of the session.
• Meanwhile, in Australia the S&P/ASX 200 (^AXJO) index fell as much as 2.1% after opening, closing 0.9% down. The benchmark recorded its biggest intraday loss since 19 December.
• “Stocks are diving following Trump unveiling tariffs that will hurt most global companies, Australian farmers, and investors alike”, Jessica Amir, a market analyst at trading platform Moomoo, said.
• The yen strengthened against the dollar on the back of the news. Analysts have warned of further pressure to Asian markets as a stronger yen threatens to weigh on exports. The Japanese currency has surged as investors consider it a safe-haven asset.
• Across the pond on Wall Street, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) ended 0.7% higher, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) was 0.9% up at the close. The Dow Jones (^DJI) also gained 0.7%.
• However, Nasdaq futures tumbled 4% and in after-hours trade some $760bn was wiped from the market value of Magnificent 7 technology leaders. Apple (AAPL) shares were down nearly 7%, taking a hard hit as the company makes iPhones in China. S&P 500 futures fell more than 3%.
• Good morning, and welcome back to our markets live blog. As usual we will be taking a deep dive into what’s moving markets and all that’s happening across the global economy.
• Here’s a quick look at what’s on the agenda for today:
• 7am: Trading updates: Chapel Down Group, JP Morgan American, Moonpig, Motorpoint
• 9.30am: PMI services, PMI composite
• 1.30pm: US Initial Jobless Claims
• 1.30pm: US Balance of Trade