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| - Global equities fell Friday as US President Donald Trump readied a response to Beijing's controversial planned national security law for Hong Kong, putting trading floors on edge. Trump announced a news conference for Friday as heightened tensions between the two superpowers overshadowed optimism over signs that the global coronavirus crisis was easing. "Markets are rightly worrying about escalating tensions between the US and China," said Holger Schmieding, an analyst with Berenberg. Trump might announce targeted sanctions against Beijing, he said. "This dispute is serious," Schmieding added. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones index was down around 180 points in the late New York morning. European markets were also down at the closing bell as investors adoped "a more pessimistic tone, with fears over the impending US reaction to Chinese actions in Hong Kong driving traders to bank their profits ahead of the weekend," noted IG analyst Joshua Mahony. The European single currency briefly zoomed to a two-month peak as the dollar took a hit from souring China-US relations, before easing back somewhat. Trump told reporters at an Oval Office meeting that he was "not happy" with Beijing and the news conference would be about "what we're doing with respect to China", while giving no specifics. The White House has already revoked the Hong Kong's special status, potentially opening the way for it to be stripped of key trading privileges such as lower tariffs than mainland China. Relations between Washington and Beijing have deteriorated since the outbreak of the virus, which has killed more than 100,000 Americans, with Trump laying the blame at China's door. The row has fanned fears of a renewal of their trade war, which hammered the world economy and sent markets tumbling last year. Still, traders were drawing some support from parts of the world gradually returning to a semblance of normality as coronavirus death and infection rates eased. Renault was the biggest faller in Paris, with shares crashing by more than seven percent after the company revealed a radical restructuring plan to save two billion euros ($2.2 billion) over three years. The French carmaker plans to axe almost 15,000 jobs, including 4,600 at core operations in France as it seeks to steer out of a cash crunch exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis. The group is switching focus to electric vehicles in the hope of restoring competitiveness in a market reeling from slumping sales, after the COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of people into home confinement. London - FTSE 100: DOWN 2.5 percent at 6,061.43 points (close) Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 1.7 percent at 11,586.85 (close) Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.6 percent at 4,695.44 (close) EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.4 percent at 3,050.20 New York - Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent at 25,221,39 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 21,877.89 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.7 percent at 22,961.47 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 2,852.35 (close) Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.8 percent at $35.75 per barrel West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $33.54 Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1102 from $1.1077 at 2100 GMT Dollar/yen: UP at 107.78 yen from 107.65 Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2326 from $1.2321 Euro/pound: UP at 90.06 pence from 89.91 burs-jh/cdw
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