Sawt Falasteen - Autos lead market losses after Trump unveils sharp tariffs

On Wall Street, the Dow, the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the broad-based S&P 500 all slipped, with General Motors giving up 7.4 percent and Ford dipping 3.9 percent.

In Tokyo, Toyota -- the world's top-selling carmaker -- fell two percent. Honda shed 2.5 percent, Nissan was off 1.7 percent and Mazda dropped six percent.

Seoul-listed Hyundai gave up more than four percent.

Among European auto firms, Volkswagen shed 1.3 percent, Porsche lost 2.6 percent, Mercedes dropped 2.7 percent and BMW fell 2.5 percent, helping to push the Frankfurt DAX index down 0.7 percent.

Jeep maker Stellantis lost more than four percent.

India's Tata Motors, which exports Jaguars and Land Rovers to the United States, also lost ground -- leading analysts to speculate on where markets may be headed.

"The trade war has escalated, and unsurprisingly, German carmakers are leading the declines or are among the biggest decliners today," said StoneX Group analyst Fawad Razaqzada.

Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst with CMC Markets, added: "While investors see a fair chance for successful negotiations between the European Union and the US in the coming weeks, many prefer to wait for these discussions rather than speculate in advance."

Ultimately, these actions could follow familiar patterns of threats before negotiations that produce compromises which Trump can proudly present, Stanzl added.

Recent speculation that Trump might not impose sector-specific tariffs in early April has "been entirely undermined by the fact that the president has instead opted to start announcing such measures ahead of that date," said analyst Joshua Mahony of Scope Markets.

There also had been indications that tariffs lined up for Trump's so-called "Liberation Day" on April 2 could be less severe than feared.

However, the White House's habit of alternating between tough talk and leniency has fanned uncertainty, and the latest announcement did little to soothe nerves.

"What we're going to be doing is a 25 percent tariff on all cars that are not made in the United States," Trump said Wednesday.

The rate, which takes effect on April 3 at 12:01 am (0401 GMT), affects foreign-made cars and light trucks imported into America. The tariffs also apply to auto parts.

The move has heightened concerns about the impact on global growth and corporate profits, particularly for carmakers in Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and Germany, said Daniela Sabin Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.

About half of the cars sold in the United States are made within the country. Of the imported vehicles, about half come from Mexico and Canada, with Japan, South Korea and Germany also major suppliers.

Japan's government called the tariffs "extremely regrettable" while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called it a "direct attack" on his country's workers.

Carney later added that the era of deep economic, security and military ties between Canada and the United States was "over."

French Finance Minister Eric Lombard warned: "The only solution for the European Union will be to raise tariffs on American products in response."

- Key figures around 2030 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 42,299.70 points (close)

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.3 percent at 5,693.31 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.5 percent at 17,804.03 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,666.12 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.5 percent at 7,990.11 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.7 percent at 22,678.74 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.6 percent at 37,799.97 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 23,578.80 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,373.75 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0796 from $1.0757 on Wednesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2947 from $1.2891

Dollar/yen: UP at 151.04 yen from 150.54 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.38 pence from 83.41 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $69.92 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3 percent at $74.03 per barrel

I.Matar--SF-PST