May 4 (Reuters) – European shares were muted on Monday, as investors watched for signs of progress in Middle East talks, while European automakers were under pressure following a potential U.S. tariff hike.Â
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he would raise tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union to 25% this week from the prior 15%, saying the bloc had not complied with its trade deal.Â
German automakers led the fall, with BMW and Mercedes dropping over 2% each, while Porsche and Volkswagen were off 1.5% each.
Truckmakers Daimler Truck and Traton were both marginally down. The automobiles index fell 1.6%.Â
The pan-European STOXX 600 was flat at 611.98 points as of 0704 GMT, after posting a modest gain last week. Most regional bourses were muted with Germany’s DAX little changed. London markets were closed for a public holiday.Â
European equities still remain about 4% away from their pre-war trading levels, while Wall Street and global equities have rebounded on Artificial Intelligence-driven optimism, with the region’s energy dependence weighing on shares.Â
Among early movers, Thyssenkrupp gained 1.2%. The German industrial giant paused talks to sell its steel unit to India’s Jindal Steel.
(Reporting by Twesha Dikshit; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee )
