European Shares Poised To Open Lower On Trump Tariff Concerns

(RTTNews) - European stocks may drift lower at open on Tuesday after the S&P 500 posted its third consecutive session loss on tariff worries and apprehensions over the artificial intelligence-driven narratives.

Amid rising geopolitical risks and trade war concerns, investors now look ahead to Home Depot's earnings release due before the U.S. opening bell later today and AI-chip darling Nvidia's fiscal-fourth-quarter results after the close of trading on Wednesday for further direction.

On the economic front, the U.S. consumer confidence data for February is due later in the day, followed by a slew of other economic data later in the week, including the Federal Reserve's preferred readings on consumer price inflation on Friday.

Closer home, economic conditions in Germany are in a challenging state as coalition talks continue, according to the Bundesbank's monthly report.

Meanwhile, in a major policy shift, the U.S. on Monday sided with Russia on a UN General Assembly draft resolution that called for a de-escalation, an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the war in Ukraine.

Asian markets fell as U.S. President Donald Trump moved to curb Chinese investments and announced he would proceed with tariffs on Canada and Mexico, following a one-month delay.

The dollar edged up slightly on renewed tariff worries. Gold drifted lower after hitting a record high on Monday, fueled by safe-haven demand amid concerns over Trump's tariff plans and inflows into the world's largest gold-backed ETF.

Oil extended overnight gains, bolstered by fresh sanctions by the U.S. Treasury on Iran and Iraq's pledge to compensate for its overproduction.

U.S. stocks fluctuated before ending mixed overnight. The S&P 500 dropped half a percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.2 percent while the narrower Dow ended flat with a positive bias.

Heightened tensions over trade kept investors on edge as President Trump said that tariffs he unveiled on Canada and Mexico will proceed as planned once the monthlong delay ends next week.

Trump also stated at a White conference that the U.S. has been 'taken advantage of' by other nations and he would impose reciprocal tariffs to 'make up a lot of territory.'

European stocks ended mixed on Monday as the conservative alliance in Germany secured victory in the national election and data showed Eurozone inflation surged to a six-month high of 2.5 percent in January and remained above the ECB's medium-term target of 2 percent for the third consecutive month.

The pan European STOXX 600 finished marginally lower. The German DAX rose 0.6 percent, while France's CAC 40 shed 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed little changed with a negative bias.