Wednesday 08 May 2019 12:32 pm | Updated: Wednesday 05 June 2019 9:07 am

Global stocks continue downwards trend as poor Chinese data adds to trade fears

Global stock markets have continued to slide today as investors digested the impending increase of US tariffs on goods from China and weaker-than-expected Chinese exports.

The UK benchmark FTSE 100 had fallen 0.4 per cent to 7,234.96 shortly after midday UK time after falling 1.8 per cent yesterday. The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 0.3 per cent following yesterday’s 1.4 per cent fall.

Markets have reacted badly to US President Donald Trump’s weekend announcement that the US would be cranking up tariffs to 25 per cent on $200bn of goods from its economic rival from their current rate of 10 per cent.

Investors’ fears were compounded this morning after China announced a fall in exports of 2.7 per cent in April year-on-year – economists had been expecting a rise.

The French benchmark CAC 40 was down 0.1 per cent today, while the Spanish Ibex 35 had fallen 0.6 per cent.

Germany’s Dax index had risen 0.1 per cent following better-than-expected industrial production figures for March.

Overnight, Asian indexes continued to fall, too. The Shanghai composite index fell 1.12 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Sang index dropped 1.23 per cent.

Investor fears also sent Japan’s Nikkei index 1.46 per cent lower.

Meanwhile, the yield on US government bonds fell, indicating a rise in prices, as investors sold stocks and bought safer assets.

Connor Campbell of Spreadex said European stocks were “not quite as terrified of the return of belligerent trade war rhetoric as they were on Monday and Tuesday, but no less uneasy about the geopolitical landscape”.

“The FTSE would have potentially been in worse shape this Wednesday if sterling weren’t struggling with its own political migraine,” he said.

David Madden of CMC Markets said: “We are expecting the Dow Jones to open 10 points lower at 25,955 and we are calling the S&P 500 flat at 2,884.”