BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks fell sharply to hit over three-month lows on Friday, as growing global trade tensions as well as weak manufacturing data from China stoked recession fears.
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced new tariffs on all goods coming from Mexico to curb illegal immigration across the border to the U.S.
In a tweet, Trump said that from 10 June a 5 percent tariff would be imposed and would slowly rise until the situation is resolved.
China's manufacturing activity declined in May for the first time in three months, raising fresh concerns about the growth outlook.
The pan European Stoxx 600 was down 1.3 percent at 367.34 after rising 0.4 percent on Thursday.
The German DAX was losing 1.9 percent, France's CAC 40 index was declining 1.5 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down about 1 percent.
Tariff worries weighed on the auto sector, with BMW, Daimler, Volkswagen and Renault falling 2-4 percent.
Spanish banks Santander, Sabadell and Bilbao, which have substantial presence in Mexico, also tumbled 2-4 percent.
German payments company Wirecard plunged as much as 11 percent after a Handelsblatt report on an investigation by authorities into fraudulent transactions in the sector.
In economic releases, Germany's retail sales rebounded in April from last year driven by the timing of Easter, data from Destatis showed.
Retail sales rebounded at a faster-than-expected pace of 4 percent annually in April, reversing a 2 percent fall in March. Sales were forecast to grow moderately by 1.3 percent.
The timing of Easter had a positive effect on the year-on-year development of turnover in April, Destatis said.
U.K. house prices increased at a slower pace in May, data from Nationwide Building Society showed.
House prices grew 0.6 percent year-on-year in May, slower than the 0.9 percent increase seen in April. Economists had forecast a faster growth of 1.2 percent.
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