In what has become a familiar pattern, global stocks headed south after President Trump appeared to pour cold water on the chances of an imminent US-China trade deal.

Trump used a White House meeting to again threaten to raise tariffs on Chinese goods if the world’s two largest economies cannot agree a trade deal.

Asian stocks tumbled at the news, with tensions between the US and China cranked higher by a row over human rights in Hong Kong. The Shanghai-based SSEC ended the day on 2,911, a fall of 0.78 per cent, while Hong Kong’s 0'>Hang Seng index fell by 204 points, or 0.75 per cent.

Europe quickly caught Asia’s cold, with gloomy economic data adding to trade war woes. Trade-reliant stocks were hit hard, with the pan-European STOXX 600 down 0.41 per cent, and Germany’s 0'>DAX sliding to 13,158, a 0.48 per cent fall.

London’s 0'>FTSE 100, meanwhile, was down 0.84 per cent at the end of trading at 7,262.49. In the US, the 0'>Dow Jones and 0'>S&P 500 were slightly down by late morning.

As far as companies are concerned there were big tumbles by UK DIY retailer Kingfisher after poor third quarter results and German payments company 0'>Wirecard following news of potential auditing irregularities.

0'>Sterling remained largely unchanged against the euro while sliding slightly against the dollar, but overall showed little reaction to a general election TV debate in which both Prime Minister Boris Johnson and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn failed to land a punch.

In commodities trading, both 0'>Brent Crude and NYMEX 0'>Crude Oil made gains in afternoon trading, while safe haven gold slipped back. 0'>Bitcoin was having a steady day, hovering around 8,100 USD.

FURTHER READING: Asian stocks decline as Trump again threatens to raise tariffs on Chinese goods