Global Markets Rise as Trump's One-Month Tariff Exemption Lifts Automakers

By Michael SusinGlobal stock markets tracked Wall Street higher Thursday with automakers leading the way after U.S. President Trump's one-month tariff reprieve for auto imports from Mexico and Canada.Even so, the dollar continued to slide on continued uncertainty around the impact of tariffs on trade, and a bond sell-off triggered by plans in Europe to massively boost fiscal spending continued. U.S. stock futures started the day lower.The DXY Dollar Index, which measures the dollar against a basket of major currencies, fell to a four-month low of 104.0671 early in Europe. "This chaos in U.S. trade policy creates uncertainty and makes decisions for investments and durable consumption difficult," Commerzbank currency analyst Ulrich Leuchtmann said in a note.German Bunds extended Wednesday's historically large losses with the 10-year yield hitting the highest level since October 2023, at 2.885%. Wednesday's sell-off, the biggest one-day move since 1990, started after the future German coalition partners agreed on large-scale spending plans to stimulate the economy and increase defense expenditure.The falls Thursday extended to Japanese government bonds and U.K. gilts, with both seeing a steady rise in yields.U.S. stock futures were down around 0.5% early in Europe after the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 1.1% Wednesday. Asian markets ended higher; China's mainland shares rose on growing expectations that Beijing may unveil measures to boost its economy.In Europe, the Stoxx 600 and DAX were up 0.3% and 1.1%, respectively, while the CAC was flat. The FTSE 100 was down 0.1%, having initially opened slightly higher.Mercedes-Benz was the top riser among European car stocks, up 5.4%, followed by Volvo Car, BMW, Volkswagen and Stellantis, which were all up more than 3%.Dow Jones Newswires staff contributed to this article.Write to Michael Susin at [email protected]