SYDNEY - Global stocks fell on Thursday, led by heavy losses in Japan and South Korea, after US President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on auto imports, with European stock futures also pointing to a lower open.

Trump late on Wednesday announced plans for long-promised 25 percent tariffs on automotive imports. Analysts expect the move to hit European, Japanese and South Korean companies at most.

Japan's Nikkei fell 1 percent, while South Korea's KOSPI dropped 1.3 percent. Toyota Motor shares tumbled 2.6 percent, and both Mazda Motor and Subaru plunged about 6 percent.

European stock markets are set for a lower open, with pan-European STOXX 50 futures down 0.5 percent and FTSE futures 0.2 percent lower.

Trump also said planned reciprocal tariffs on all countries will be "lenient". 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded flat on Thursday.

Wall Street futures also recouped earlier losses and inched up 0.1 percent. Wall Street already ended sharply lower on expectations of such a move, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq slumping more than 2 percent on Wednesday.

Following the tariff announcement, US automakers lost ground after the bell. General Motors slumped 6 percent, while shares in Ford fell almost 5 percent.

"It is not feeling at this point like we are going to see a day of complete carnage out there," said Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG.

"I think the timing has caught people off guard, but I don't think the detail of the announcement so much caught people off guard... so now it's just how the Europeans, South Koreans and the Japanese choose to respond."

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said all options were on the table in response to the US tariffs. Canada said it could impose retaliatory duties, while the European Union expressed regret but was seeking negotiated solutions.

Analysts have warned that Trump's tariff plans could stoke US inflation, with the Federal Reserve already pausing its policy easing cycle.

St Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said on Wednesday it was possible inflation would be higher and growth lower than expected and there was no urgency for the Fed to cut interest rates.

In currency markets, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, retreated 0.3 percent to 104.32, having hit a three-week top of 104.71 overnight.

The euro touched a three-week low of $1.0731, but bounced off the 200-day moving average and was last up 0.3 percent at $1.0780. The yen, on the other hand, recovered some of the overnight losses and bounced 0.2 percent to 150.21 per dollar on Thursday.

Treasury yields held steady in Asia after edging up overnight. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yields held steady at 4.3537 percent, having gained 5 basis points overnight.

The tariff uncertainty sent gold 0.5 percent higher to $3,035 per ounce, not far from a record high of $3,057.

Oil prices were marginally higher. Brent futures rose 0.1 percent to $73.87 a barrel, while US crude futures CLc1 also added 0.1 percent to $69.73 per barrel.