European stock markets edged lower Friday, with investors taking profits at the end of a positive week, although sentiment has been boosted as U.S. President Donald Trump delayed imposing new reciprocal tariffs on major trading partners, including the European Union.
At 03:15 ET (08:15 GMT), the DAX index in Germany dropped 0.4%, the FTSE 100 in the U.K. fell 0.3%, while the CAC 40 in France traded largely unchanged.
Strong gains in Europe
European stock markets have had a good week, with Germany’s DAX index leading the way, hitting a record high on Thursday and registering a gain of almost 4% this week.
The pan-Europe Stoxx 600 index also hit a new record high this week, prompting Goldman Sachs to raise its 12-month price target, citing factors such as lower risk premium, reduced energy prices, improved consumer confidence, and stronger economic growth as the key drivers.
Delay to US reciprocal tariffs
Investors are also breathing a sigh of relief Friday after President Trump delayed the levying of reciprocal tariffs on the U.S.’s major trading partners, including the European Union, until the beginning of April.
Trump on Thursday signed an executive order outlining plans to impose trade tariffs that would match or surpass those imposed by major trading partners on U.S. imports.
But Trump did not immediately impose any reciprocal tariffs, as he had previously threatened.
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