Stock markets diverged Wednesday as investors fretted over what shape US President Donald Trump's fresh wave of tariffs would take later in the day.

The dollar and oil prices dipped while gold, viewed as a safe-haven investment, came close to achieving a fresh all-time high.

After Tokyo's stock market closed up slightly and Chinese indices steadied, Europe dropped, led lower by Frankfurt.

"For traders and investors, today represents a day of huge uncertainty as we weigh up the potential for retaliatory tariffs and a tit-for-tat trade war," said Joshua Mahony, analyst at traders Scope Markets.

Global equities have been hit hard leading up to Trump's announcement -- dubbed "Liberation Day" -- with warnings that friend and foe are in the........

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