Germany’s DAX leads European shares lower on heightened US trade uncertainty

Feb 23 (Reuters) – European shares dipped in choppy trading on Monday, rocked by a fresh wave of uncertainty regarding ​U.S. trade policy after President Donald ‌Trump announced a new rate of global tariffs.

The pan-European STOXX had capped last week with a record high after the U.S. Supreme Court struck ‌down ​tariffs that Trump had slapped ⁠on global economies ⁠last year.

Over the weekend, Trump announced a new 10% rate and then lifted it to 15%, sparking ambiguity over the relevance ​of trade deals such as with the EU. The European Commission has ruled ⁠out changes.

On Monday, the ⁠STOXX slipped 0.3% to 628.62 ​points by 0815 GMT, with Germany’s DAX down ​the most by 0.7%.

Most sectors were in ‌the red, with technology leading declines with a 1.3% drop, while banks, seen as more domestically focused, among the top gainers.

Italy’s ⁠biggest utility Enel gained 3.4% after saying it would increase its capital expenditure over the next ⁠three years, ‌shifting focus to renewables, mainly ⁠in Europe and the U.S.

Johnson ​Matthey ‌tanked 14% after agreeing to slash ​the sale ⁠price of its catalyst technologies business to Honeywell , after the unit underperformed in fiscal 2025 with deferred projects and weaker profitability.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by ​Mrigank Dhaniwala)