Concerns about China's dismal economic outlook and possible US tariffs on European cars led the euro to a decline, while the end of the next chapter in the Brexit saga gave a moment of peace to the pound. Fresh European news was weak and local markets followed the lead of Asia and pushed major indices towards the red zone.
European automakers lost more than 1.5% after US Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley said that, in his opinion, Donald Trump was "ready" to introduce European car tariffs in order to win better terms for agriculture. Banks suffered from the disappointing results of Societe Generale and the technology sector also came under pressure. However, now there are many questions about this. Some were enthusiastic about Vice Premier Liu He going to the United States on January 30 for further talks with Washington but this news was not enough to change the balance in a broader sense. Additional caution in this regard was caused by news that US lawmakers submitted bills banning the sale of chips or other components to Huawei or other Chinese telecommunications companies that violate US sanctions or export control laws. Grassley's remarks about car tariffs, as well as the fact that there was not much progress in the negotiations between the US and China and diminished the appetite for risk, which was quite good at the beginning of the year amid growing optimism.
