London (AFP) – Gold reached $3,500 an ounce for the first time Tuesday as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and verbal assault on the Federal Reserve prompted investors to snap up the safe-haven asset. But Wall Street rebounded from sharp losses the previous day, pulling Europe’s main stock markets higher as the region’s trading resumed after a long-weekend break for Easter. Asian indexes closed mixed, while the dollar diverged against major rivals and oil prices firmed.
“Looking at today’s rebound for equities, you might be forgiven for thinking that financial markets have forgotten all about Trump’s threats to fire Powell,” said IG analyst Chris Beauchamp. Panicked Wall Street investors dumped US assets on Monday, with all three main indexes ending down around 2.5 percent after Trump took another swipe at Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell. The president last week criticised Powell over the latter’s warning that the sweeping levies would likely reignite inflation.
While that raised eyebrows, Trump sent shivers through markets Monday by again calling on Powell to make pre-emptive cuts to US interest rates and calling him a “major loser” and “Mr Too Late”. The Republican tycoon said on his Truth Social platform that there was “virtually” no inflation, claiming energy and food costs were well down and pointed to the several interest rate reductions by the European Central Bank. The outbursts have fanned concern that Trump is preparing to oust Powell. Trump’s top economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Friday that the president was looking at whether he could do so.
But Wall Street rebounded strongly on Tuesday, largely making up Monday’s losses. Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare put part of Wall Street’s Tuesday rebound down to thinking now that Trump won’t fire Powell and that the president “is simply setting him up now to take the blame in the event of an economic downturn”. IG’s Beauchamp said that “volatility on both up and down days is a given right now, but Tesla’s earnings tonight could well determine the near-term direction”.
Tesla shares rose more than four percent after having fallen nearly six percent on Monday. “Traders will be watching closely for any guidance or surprises that might stabilise sentiment around the EV giant,” said Trade Nation analyst David Morrison. Tesla’s shares have tanked more than 35 percent from the start of the year as Elon Musk’s political role in the Trump administration has dented the brand’s image, and the carmaker has also been caught up in tariff turmoil.
Investors largely shrugged off the International Monetary Fund saying Trump’s new tariff policies would take a big bite out of global growth, with many already having factored in their impact. The IMF now sees the global economy growing by 2.8 percent this year, 0.5 percentage points lower than its previous forecast in January. The IMF also warned “global financial stability risks have increased significantly, driven by tighter global financial conditions and heightened economic uncertainty” caused by Trump’s stop-start tariff rollout.
– Key figures at 1530 GMT –
New York – Dow: UP 2.1 percent at 38,953.06 points
New York – S&P 500: UP 2.1 percent at 5,265.09
New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 2.4 percent at 16,243.11
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 8,328.60 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.6 percent at 7,326.47 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 21,293.53 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 34,220.60 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 21,562.32 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,299.76 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1480 from $1.1510 on Monday
Pound/dollar: UP $1.3380 at $1.3377
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 140.80 yen from 140.89 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.83 pence from 86.03 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.9 percent at $67.49 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.3 percent at $63.83 per barrel
© 2024 AFP
