DAX Down Sharply As Tariff Concerns Weigh

(RTTNews) - German stocks are down sharply Friday morning amid uncertainty surrounding Trump administration's trade policy as the U.S. President keeps changing his stance on tariffs on goods imported into US., and on caution ahead of the crucial U.S. jobs data due later in the day.

Data showing a sharp drop in Germany's industrial orders in the month of January is weighing as well on sentiment.

Investors are looking ahead to a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later in the day for additional clues about monetary policy outlook for the world's biggest economy.

Selling is widespread, and stocks from banking and automobile sectors are among the notable losers.

The benchmark DAX, which tumbled to 23,016.04 earlier in the session, was down 313.13 points or 1.33% at 23,134.46 a little while ago.

Siemens Energy is declining nearly 6%. Merck, Deutsche Post, Sartorius, Rheinmetall, Siemens, Brenntag and Deutsche Bank are down 2 to 4%.

BMW is down 2.8%. Continental, Daimler Truck Holding, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche are lower by 1.4 to 2%. Volkswagen is declining by about 0.6%.

Zalando is down 1.7%. The German e-retailer announced that it has secured the purchase of 90% of About You's share capital in its public takeover offer.

Beiersdorf, MTU Aero Engines, Siemens Healthineers, SAP, Henkel, Infineon, Commerzbank, Heidelberg Materials and Fresenius are also notably lower.

Deutsche Telekom and E.ON., have bucked the trend, and are trading higher by 0.9% and 0.5%, respectively.

The euro is up against the dollar after European Union leaders committed to a massive step in defense cooperation following decades of hesitation.

The 27 leaders signed off on a move to loosen budget restrictions so willing EU countries can increase military spending.

Data from Destatis said Germany's industrial orders declined more than expected in January reflecting sharp decreases in orders for machinery and transport equipment. Industrial orders fell 7% month-on-month in January, in contrast to the revised 5.9% rise in the previous month. Economists had forecast a moderate 2.8% fall for January.