European stocks tumbled on Friday on concerns that mounting tensions between the world’s two largest economies could spiral further.
US President Donald Trump harshly criticized China’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, blaming the country for the deaths of 100,000 Americans, and announcing new actions, including an end to US funding for the WHO.
He also ordered probes of Chinese companies listed on US financial markets.
However, he made no mention of the “phase one” trade agreement with China that walked back earlier trade tariffs, nor did he threaten new levies on US imports from the country.
Earlier, bourses in Paris, Frankfurt and London retreated in anticipation of Trump’s speech, which was delivered after European markets closed.
The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 1.4 percent on Friday, but rose 3 percent for the week.
Week-end and month-end trading was playing a part in Friday’s price action, CMC Markets chief market analyst Michael Hewson.
The biggest gainers of the week — automakers, travel and leisure stocks, and banks — fell 2 to 3 percent.
Still, hopes of a global economic recovery amid stimulus programs and several countries emerging from lockdowns helped the STOXX 600 rise just more than 3 percent for the month.
Coffee maker JDE Peet’s BV, one of the few big companies to go public during the coronavirus crisis, jumped 13.5 percent in its market debut, valuing it at 15.6 billion euros (US$17.3 billion).
AstraZeneca PLC gained 1.9 percent as its top-selling drug Tagrisso has been shown to hold back a certain type of lung cancer when diagnosed at an early stage.
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