Stocks trading 8% higher on Euronext Amsterdam after Trump pauses U.S. tariff plan
Stockbrokers sent the Euronext Amsterdam exchange soaring when the gong sounded at the market opening on the Damrak on Thursday morning. There was an almost immediate 7.70 percent increase on the AEX Index listing of the top companies, bringing the price up to over 854 euros, a reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze most American tariff increases for 90 days, except on goods from China.
Within minutes of the 9 a.m. opening, payment processor Adyen was up over 15 percent, and tech stocks ASM International and ASML were up over 14 and 12 percent, respectively. Arcelor Mittal also showed sharp gains of about 12 percent, with Randstad, Aegon, Philips, and ING all around 9 to 10 percent higher than when the market closed on Wednesday.
The Midkap index of mid-range companies on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange showed an early jump of about 5 percent, while the SmallCap fund was up over 3 percent. The AEX All-Share index was also up about 1.5 percent.
After-hours trading in the AEX Index Future saw an increase of about 8.1 percent to 861.15 euros from when the Euronext Amsterdam closed on Wednesday to the next opening gong. The AEX Future was also up about 8 percent to 857.35 euros during the same period. Both futures funds saw prices quickly increase after Trump dialed back American tariff plans.
A nearly 8 percent gain on opening is big, but not a record for the AEX. On 11 November 1987, the AEX booked its largest daily gain ever with a plus of almost 12 percent. That was a recovery from the infamous "Black Monday" on 19 October 1987, when the AEX lost 12 percent. The Amsterdam main index also experienced several large losses and gains during the financial crisis in 2008. On 13 October 2008, for example, the index gained 10.6 percent, recovering from a loss of over 9 percent on 6 October 2008.
Exactly one week after bluntly introducing import tariffs affecting all non-American goods, Donald Trump surprised everyone on Wednesday by announcing that the U.S. will pause the tariffs for dozens of countries. According to NOS, it looks like the 20 percent import duties against the European Union will also be paused, though the White House has not yet provided full clarity on this.
Trump made an exception for China. Instead of pausing the U.S. import duties on Chinese goods, he increased them to 125 percent. According to Trump, China did not show respect for the global market. Earlier in the day, China increased import duties on American products to 84 percent in retaliation for Trump’s hike on import duties on Chinese products to 104 percent.
Earlier on Wednesday, the European Union announced the countermeasures it would implement in retaliation for previously imposed American import duties on steel and aluminum, among other things. Next week, duties on certain American goods will increase to 25 percent. The European Commission waited much longer than China to take countermeasures and may have escaped Trump’s dance. Europe will likely continue to negotiate with the U.S. about the remaining tariffs.
“I welcome President Trump’s announcement to pause reciprocal tariffs. It’s an important step towards stabilizing the global economy,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a statement released Thursday morning. “Tariffs are taxes that only hurt businesses and consumers. That’s why I’ve consistently advocated for a zero-for-zero tariff agreement between the European Union and the United States.”
She added that Europe will still press ahead with negotiations with other countries “to focus on diversifying” the bloc’s trade partnerships, while also making trade smoother and easier within the EU. “This crisis has made one thing clear: in times of uncertainty, the single market is our anchor of stability and resilience.”
