The FTSE 100 ( ^FTSE ) and European stocks headed lower on Wednesday as traders braced for US president Donald Trump to announce his latest round of tariffs and any potential retaliation from the country’s trading partners.

He is threatening to unleash a global trade war on what he has dubbed “liberation day”. Trump will unveil the details at the White House later this evening, at 9pm UK time.

Stocks in Asia had a choppy session while investors rush into safe assets, with gold ( GC=F ) trading 0.2% higher at $3,150.90 an ounce, after hitting a new all-time high of $3,148.8 yesterday.

Ben Bennett, a strategist at Legal & General Investment Management, told Reuters: "Nervousness is the dominant sentiment right now. Investors are hoping for some clarity.

"But tariffs are already weighing on business sentiment, and this will probably feed through into lower global economic activity in the coming months."

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