Tech stocks drag European markets lower after Nvidia sell-off ripples into chip sector

Former U.K. Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” that it was positive the U.S. and U.K. were discussing trade once again.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited the White House Thursday, where he discussed a potential trade deal as well as the war in Ukraine with President Donald Trump.

Mordaunt said she was “pleased it was a good visit.”

“What I think is also good is that we’re back to talking about trade,” she added Friday.

During a press conference after the meeting, Trump signalled that a trade deal between the two countries could potentially be brokered that could see the U.K. escape the tariffs he’s repeatedly threatened to impose on goods imported to the U.S.

Mordaunt noted that despite talks about a federal-level trade deal previously stalling, the U.K. had continued talks and formed agreements with individual U.S. states.

“So we have a really good understanding about what businesses need on a state-by-state basis. We’re in a good position to think about what sort of economic agreements would really help both of our businesses open up more of our markets to each other,” she said.

Mordaunt, from the Conservative Party which currently makes up the main opposition to Starmer’s government, also addressed the outlook for the war in Ukraine and European defence spending, which were also key topics at the meeting between Trump and Starmer.

“I think we’re getting there,” she said when asked if she believed a peace deal for Ukraine was close.

“The key thing is: do we have enough to deter Russia’s future expansionist aggression?” Mordaunt added, saying that Europe still had “a fair way to go to step up and demonstrate that.”

She also noted that she believed the U.K.’s increase in defence spending does not go far enough. The country announced earlier this week that it would increase defence spending to 2.5% of the national gross domestic product from April 2027.

— Sophie Kiderlin

European mining stocks led losses on Friday morning, after the Chinese government said it would “take all necessary countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests” should the U.S. impose further import tariffs on its goods.

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would slap additional 10% duties on Chinese imports from March 4.

The Stoxx Basic Resources index was 1.3% lower during early trade, paring earlier losses, with Syensqo shedding 3%, Voestalpine down 2.7% and Norsk Hydro losing 2.6%.

— Chloe Taylor

U.S. President Donald Trump signaled the U.K. could broker a “real trade deal” and escape tariffs amid ongoing negotiations sweetened by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Thursday visit to the White House.

When asked during a joint press briefing whether Starmer had convinced Trump to avoid additional levies on Britain, Trump said, “He tried! He was working hard, I’ll tell you that. He earned whatever the hell they pay him over there. But, he tried … I think there is a very good chance that in the case of these two great friendly countries, I think we could end up with a real trade deal that … where the tariffs wouldn’t be necessary. We’ll see.”

Read the full story here.

— Ruxandra Iordache

China’s Ministry of Commerce said Friday that it “firmly opposes” U.S. President Donald Trump‘s latest threat to ramp up tariffs on Chinese goods and vowed retaliation if necessary.

“If the U.S. insists on its own way, China will take all necessary countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests,” a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said in a statement, translated by CNBC.

“We urge the U.S. side to not repeat its own mistakes, and to return as soon as possible to the right track of properly resolving conflicts through dialogue on equal footing,” it said.

Read the full story here.

— Anniek Bao and Evelyn Cheng

The Stoxx Technology index was down 1.2% at 8:35 a.m. London time, after shares of chipmaking behemoth Nvidia sold off on Wall Street on Thursday to wipe $273 billion off of the company’s value.

In early European trade on Friday, Dutch semiconductor manufacturer BE Semiconductor was down 9%, while chipmakers Infineon and ASML were down 3% and 6.6%, respectively.  

— Chloe Taylor

French inflation cooled to 0.8% in February, according to preliminary figures from the country’s statistics agency Insee.

The Consumer Price Index is expected to have risen by 0.8% year-on-year, after an increase of 1.7% in January. Insee said that if the preliminary figures are confirmed next month, it will mark the first time in four years that France’s annual inflation rate has fallen below 1%.

— Chloe Taylor

German retail sales rose 0.2% in real terms between December and January, preliminary figures showed on Friday. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected January retail sales to remain unchanged from the previous month.

— Chloe Taylor

Financial services giant Allianz reported a record annual operating profit of 16 billion euros ($16.6 billion) on Friday when it published its full-year earnings for 2024.

The firm said it marked a year-on-year rise of 8.7%, with the growth “supported by all business segments.”

— Chloe Taylor

European stocks are expected to open in negative territory on Friday, as investors weigh U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest threat to impose tariffs on the European Union.

London’s FTSE 100 is expected to open 0.6% lower at around 8,700 points, according to IG, while the German DAX is slated to shed 1.1% at the open and the French CAC 40 is expected to open 0.8% lower.

— Chloe Taylor