European stocks plunged on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would slap a 10% tariff on the remaining $300 billion of Chinese imports from next month. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was provisionally down 2.4% by the end of the session, basic resources and auto stocks falling 4.6% and 3.4% respectively as all sectors traded in the red. Tech stocks also among the biggest losers — dropping 3.6%.

Investors are rushing into safe haven assets after President Trump in a tweet on Thursday jettisoned a trade truce between the world's two largest economies while talks over a resolution are ongoing. Asian stocks plunged on Friday afternoon, with Japan's Nikkei and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index both falling more than 2% as all indexes fell sharply. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying responded on Friday, saying that Beijing would have to take countermeasures if the U.S. was indeed committed to imposing new tariffs on Chinese goods. Back in Europe, new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a blow Friday morning after the pro-European Union Liberal Democrat party won the parliamentary seat of Brecon and Radnorshire, in Wales, from the governing Conservatives. The loss reduces Johnson's working majority in parliament to just one ahead of an expected tussle with lawmakers over his plan to take Britain out of the European Union with or without an exit agreement on October 31. EU finance ministers are in the process of voting for their nomination to replace Christine Lagarde at the helm of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and are expected to announce their nominee on Friday.

Earnings in focus