Growing uncertainty from Donald Trump’s tariffs has wiped more than £2bn from the value of one of the UK’s biggest listed businesses, sending shares in the paper cups to plastic bags distributor Bunzl plunging more than 25%.

The FTSE 100 group, which provides everyday goods for other companies, warned about “macroeconomic uncertainty” as it said sales had been soft in its North American operation.

The chief executive, Frank van Zanten, said he was disappointed with the performance in the first quarter of a “challenging trading environment”.

He said: “We are taking decisive action to improve performance in the group, particularly with regards to execution in our largest business in North America.”

Bunzl now expects moderate revenue growth and operating margin to end the year below 8%, compared with 8.3% in 2024. The group had previously forecast robust revenue growth this year and its operating margin to be in line with 2024. Bunzl also said on Wednesday it would pause its share buyback programme for the remainder of 2025, having already spent £115m on repurchasing its own shares this year.

The news wiped off £2bn from its market value on Wednesday, with its shares the worst performer across the FTSE 100.

It marks the growing impact of Trump’s trade war on corporate confidence in the global economy. Markets were rocky again on Wednesday morning as investors digested the impact of a government restriction on the ability of the chip designer Nvidia to sell its chips to China, as well as an investigation into potential new tariffs on all US critical mineral imports.

In London, the recruiter Hays has said it could struggle to hire next year because of “increasing macroeconomic uncertainty”, as it reported a 9% drop in net fees in the three months ending on 31 March. Shares in Hays, which is a member of the more domestic-focused FTSE 250 index, dropped 1% on Wednesday morning.

It mirrors a warning from the rival recruiter Robert Walters on Tuesday, which said US tariffs were likely to weigh on the hiring market in the short-term. Last week another rival, PageGroup, withheld its financial forecast and implemented cost-cutting measures because of what it called “increasingly unpredictable” conditions as a result of the trade war.

European markets opened lower on Wednesday, with the UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 index dropping 0.5%. Germany’s Dax slipped by 0.3% and France’s Cac fell 0.4%. Asian shares also sold off overnight, with markets in Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea worst hit, falling between 1.2% and 2%.