BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks fell sharply on Thursday as Chinese Vice Premier Liu He heads to Washington for talks today.
After U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to push ahead with raising tariffs on $200 billion of imports from China by Friday, Beijing said it is fully prepared to defend its interests.
The benchmark CAC 40 was down 65 points or 1.19 percent at 5,352 in opening deals after ending up 0.4 percent on Wednesday.
Tariff worries pulled down automakers, with Renault down 2 percent and Peugeot falling 1.1 percent.
Banks BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale were down between 1.5 percent and 2.4 percent.
Elsewhere, Asian stocks fell heavily and trading in U.S. stock futures pointed towards a tepid open on Wall Street, as investors fretted about the U.S.-China trade dispute and its impact on global growth.
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