FTSE 100: Stocks plunge at open as markets tremble in fear over Trump trade war

European and Asian markets also dipped ahead of the deadline later this week.

President Trump is planning for reciprocal tariffs on more US trading partners, while a 25 per cent levy on foreign-made cars is also set to take effect on Thursday.

The FTSE 100 dropped 0.8 per cent in London while the Cac 40 in Paris and Dax in Frankfurt were down about one per cent.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 1.2 per cent to 23,156.65 while Japan's Nikkei finished the session more than four per cent lower.

Stocks were also hit after the US president threatened to impose tariffs on Russian oil after the Republican said he was "very angry" with Vladimir Putin for demanding that President Volodymyr Zelensky be replaced as the price for peace negotiations.

Trump told NBC: "If I feel we're in the midst of a negotiation, you could say that I was very angry, p***ed off... when Putin started getting into Zelenskyy's credibility, because that's not going in the right direction."

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Downing Street said Sir Keir Starmer and President Trump discussed "productive negotiations" towards an economic prosperity deal in a phone call last night.

The leaders said negotiations will continue this week and agreed to stay in touch in the coming days, according to a Downing Street statement.

Britain was hoping to negotiate a deal with the US to avoid a broader round of reciprocal tariffs.

On Friday, Trump said he was open to carving out deals with countries seeking to avoid US tariffs, but those agreements would have to be negotiated after his administration announces reciprocal levies on April 2.

Trump said countries, including Britain, had approached the US to try to cut deals and avert the reciprocal tariffs.

Copper prices in London hovered near a two-week low earlier today on heightened concerns about a possible trade war.

The benchmark three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metals Exchange (LME) lost 0.3 per cent to $9,765 per metric ton. Earlier in the session, prices hit $9,736, the lowest level since March 13.

A base trader said: "High uncertainties surrounding Trump's tariffs have worried investors.

"If Trump imposes tariffs on copper earlier, some arbitrage traders may face losses if their shipments can't reach the US before the tariffs are enforced."