The New York Stock Exchange is set to open mixed on Tuesday morning, with signs of tension on the trade front due to Donald Trump's latest statements fuelling some nervousness in the markets.

Half an hour before opening, futures on the CAC 40 index were down 0.3%, while those on the Nasdaq 100 were up 0.3%, pointing to an uncertain start to the session.

US President-elect Donald Trump announced last night on his social media site Truth that he intended to increase tariffs on products from China, Canada and Mexico.

In detail, the New York businessman intends to impose an additional 25% tax on Canadian and Mexican products imported into the USA, while Chinese goods would be subject to an additional 10% tariff.

From an analyst's point of view, these announcements confirm that the trade issue is indeed at the top of the new American president's political agenda.

The fact that he is threatening to impose additional tariffs as soon as he is elected confirms our view that Trump will activate the tariff lever much faster than he did during his first term in office", warn the teams at Capital Economics.

The problem is that tariffs on imported products would inflate the price of imported goods for American consumers, just as inflation is starting to ease in the United States.

This is all the more true given that developments on US stock markets over the past few weeks have shown that investors are concerned about the price consequences of any trade turbulence, and their impact on the Fed's current monetary easing policy.

In Asia, Chinese markets were slightly affected by Trump's message, with the CSI 300 index of China's leading companies losing 0.2%.

European markets also suffered, but without posting too heavy losses, with the Euro STOXX 50 limiting its losses to 0.5% at midday.

However, certain European sectors with strong international exposure, such as the automotive, aeronautics and basic materials industries, could well suffer in the weeks ahead.

On the whole, Trump's decision is not provoking a global movement of risk aversion or a return of investors to less risky assets, notably government bonds.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries, the benchmark rate in the United States, remains relatively stable at around 4.29%, around its lowest levels in a month.

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