In European Equity Markets stocks fell Monday as a rapid escalation of U.S.-China trade tensions continues. The pan-European Stoxx 600 traded 2.3% lower during the afternoon session, with all sectors and major bourses firmly in the red. At the bottom of the Stoxx 600, Cartier owner Richemont saw its shares fell 6%. The Swiss luxury goods maker has seen its sales negatively impacted by Hong Kong protests, which have escalated in recent days. At the other end of the European blue chip index, Finnish pharmaceuticals company Orion saw its shares rise 2.5%.

In Currency Markets China’s decision to let its yuan decline through a previously sacrosanct level means a tit-for-tat trade conflict could morph into a currency war, injecting volatility into long-dormant foreign exchanges and piling pressure on world markets. Beijing on Monday allowed the yuan to breach the 7 per dollar level for the first time in 11 years, a move seen as a direct response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s escalation of their trade conflict through more tariffs. The safe-haven Japanese yen rose to a seven-month high below 106 yen per dollar.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell on Monday on global growth concerns after U.S. President Donald Trump last week threatened China with more tariffs, which could limit crude demand from the world’s two biggest buyers. Brent crude futures were down $1.31, or 2.12%, at $60.58 per barrel. U.S. WTI crude futures were down $0.87, or 1.56%, at $54.79 a barrel. Both crude benchmarks plummeted by more than 7% last Thursday to their lowest level in about 7 weeks after Trump’s announcement, before recovering somewhat to leave Brent down 2.5% on the week and U.S. crude 1% lower.

In US Equity Markets main indexes fell sharply on Monday, led by technology companies, as China’s willingness to let the yuan slide in response to the latest U.S. tariff threat fanned fears that it could further aggravate an ongoing trade war. The S&P 500 was down 2.02%, at 2,872.86. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.67%, at 7,790.61. Apple Inc fell 4.1% as analysts expected the newly proposed tariffs to hurt demand for its flagship iPhone, while the Philadelphia chip index declined 3.5%. Industrial bellwethers Boeing Co and Caterpillar Inc shed more than 2%.

In Bond Markets Dutch 30-year and Irish 10-year government bond yields turned negative for the first time on Monday as euro zone yields sank further amid an escalation of the U.S.-China trade and currency war and concerns about a no-deal Brexit. Dutch 30-year government bond yields fell to a record low of -0.053%, taking the whole curve into negative territory for the first time. German 30-year bond yields hit a fresh record low at -0.066%. Ten-year Bund yields were down 2.5 bps at -0.52%