Sawt Falasteen - Equities, oil plunge as US, China crank up trade war

Beijing slapped a higher 84-percent levy on US goods, sharply accelerating losses on European stock markets in early afternoon trading.

Growing fears of weakened demand sent oil prices to four-year lows, with international benchmark Brent North Sea crude dropping under $60.

Paris and Frankfurt dived almost four percent, also as goods from the European Union now face a 20 percent tariff when entering the United States.

London slumped 3.5 percent, with Britain having been hit with a 10 percent levy on Saturday.

Most Asian and European equities fell back into the red -- Tokyo closed down 3.9 percent -- a day after partially rebounding from sharp sell-offs on hopes that Washington might temper some of the levies.

But any hopes of a last minute roll-back on tariffs were dashed, as the United States hit China -- its major trading partner -- with tariffs now reaching 104 percent.

"The world's largest and second largest economies are now locked in a trade war, and neither nation seems willing to back down," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Beijing warned that China had "firm will and abundant means" to fight a trade war, state news agency Xinhua said.

Speculation that Beijing will unveil stimulus measures helped Shanghai and Hong Kong stocks buck the downward trend in Asian equities.

Pharmaceutical firms took a heavy hit after Trump said he would be announcing a major levy on the sector.

Europe's most valuable company, weight-loss drug maker Novo Nordisk, dived more than seven percent and British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca shed six percent.

- Bond yields rise -

"Alarmingly, US Treasury markets are also experiencing an incredibly aggressive selloff... adding to the evidence that they’re losing their traditional haven status," said Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank.

The sharp rise in yields on US government bonds triggered similar increases to borrowing costs in the UK and Japan, as expectations for global growth and spending diminished.

"It feels like no asset class has been spared as investors continue to price in a growing probability of a US recession," Reid added.

Foreign exchange markets were similarly rattled on Wednesday -- Beijing has allowed the yuan to weaken to a record low against the dollar, while the South Korean won also hit its weakest since 2009 during the global financial crisis.

Safe-haven yen rose more than one percent.

South Korea unveiled a $2 billion emergency support for its crucial export-focused carmakers, warning Trump's 25 percent tariffs on the sector could deal a terrible blow.

To help shore up their economies, India and New Zealand's central banks cut interest rates.

Fears of that Trump's blow to commerce will spark a global recession saw Wall Street reverse healthy opening gains to end deep in the red on Tuesday -- the S&P 500 finished below 5,000 points for the first time in almost a year.

- Key figures around 1115 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 3.5 percent at 7,636.04 points

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 3.8 percent at 6,835.89

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 3.9 percent at 19,491.82

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 3.9 percent at 31,714.03 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.7 percent at 20,264.49 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.3 percent at 3,186.81 (close)

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.8 percent at 37,645.59 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1047 from $1.0959

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2811 from $1.2766

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 144.81 yen from 146.23 yen on Tuesday

Euro/pound: UP at 86.25 pence from 85.78 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 5.4 percent at $56.36 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 4.9 percent at $59.68 per barrel

O.Farraj--SF-PST