The China Mail - Stocks fall as Trump ramps up tariff threats

Trump dampened earlier optimism by firing off more than 20 letters to governments outlining new tariffs if agreements are not reached by August 1.

Bitcoin meanwhile pushed on with its climb, reaching an all-time high above $118,000.

The dollar was higher against its main rivals, and oil prices gained.

"The optimism from earlier in the week... is giving way to fears of an impending tariff surprise as the weekend approaches," said Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

Wall Street's three main indices were lower in late morning trading, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite coming off record-setting sessions.

In Europe, where investors were awaiting news of Trump's new tariff level targeting the European Union, with a letter expected by the end of the week, the Paris stock market dropped 0.9 percent and Frankfurt 0.8 percent.

"The fallout hasn't been more pronounced because the market still continues to view all of this as a point of negotiating leverage," said analyst Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com.

Trump dialled up his trade war rhetoric Thursday, warning that Canada faced a 35-percent tax, while other countries would be handed blanket tariffs of up to 20 percent, from the current 10 percent.

That came after he outlined plans to impose 50-percent tariffs on copper imports, while threatening 200-percent levies on pharmaceuticals, and hit Brazil with a new 50-percent charge.

The moves are the latest by the White House in a campaign it says is aimed at ending decades of the United States being "ripped off".

Trump's initial bombshell announcement of tariffs on April 2 sent markets into turmoil until he paused them for three months, and the latest measures have had less impact.

London's FTSE 100 and the pound retreated after data showed the UK economy unexpectedly shrank in May -- its second consecutive monthly decline.

That followed a mixed session in Asia, where Hong Kong rose, Tokyo fell and Shanghai flattened by the close.

Shares in BP jumped 3.4 percent in London after the energy giant said it expected to report higher oil and gas production for its second quarter.

- Key figures at around 1530 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent at 44,336.25 points

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 6,255.64

New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 20,591.27

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 8,941.12 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.9 percent at 7,829.29 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.8 percent at 24,255.31 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 39,569.68 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 24,139.57 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: FLAT at 3,510.18 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1697 from $1.1698 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3500 from $1.3576

Dollar/yen: UP at 147.35 yen from 146.19 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 86.65 pence from 86.16 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.4 percent at $70.28 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.6 percent at $68.32 per barrel

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C.Mak--ThChM