London (AFP) – Stock markets mostly rebounded, and there were strong gains for Mexico’s peso and Canada’s dollar Tuesday after Donald Trump said he would delay tariffs on imports from the US neighbors. It did little to soothe trade war worries, however, as Beijing announced levies on some imports of US goods in retaliation for tariffs on items arriving from China. Oil prices retreated as Beijing’s levies targeted US hydrocarbons. Gold, a safe haven asset, traded close to recent record highs.
Investors also tracked mixed earnings from major companies — including alcoholic drinks giant Diageo, which scrapped a key performance target as it predicts sales of tequila and Canadian whisky in its main market, the United States, to be hit by the tariffs. “Markets have shown some nervousness around the prospect of a trade war, yet it doesn’t look like we’re going to have another truly miserable day,” noted Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. “Equity indices were only slightly down in Europe, pockets of Asia rallied sharply, while futures prices imply a fairly quiet day on Wall Street.”
Markets from Japan to New York were sent tumbling Monday after news at the weekend that Trump had signed off on 25 percent duties against Mexico and Canada, fanning concerns for the stuttering global economy. Hours before the tariffs were due to kick in, Trump said he would postpone the measures until March. China, Canada, and Mexico are the United States’ three biggest trading partners.
“A risk is that this is the beginning of a tit-for-tat trade war, which could result in lower GDP growth everywhere, higher US inflation, a stronger dollar, and upside pressure on US interest rates,” said Stephen Dover, chief market strategist and head of Franklin Templeton Institute. “At the margin, these tariffs should encourage more domestic production of goods in the United States. However, the uncertainty surrounding the permanence of these tariffs makes it challenging for companies to make informed capital investment decisions,” he added.
Trump has warned that the European Union would be next in the firing line and has not ruled out tariffs against Britain. The volatile start to February on markets follows their rollercoaster ride last week after China’s DeepSeek unveiled a cheaper artificial intelligence model rivalling those of US tech giants, sparking questions over the vast sums invested in the sector in recent years. “One thing we can say for sure: Markets are going to remain subject to massive headline risk in coming hours… days… and years,” forecast Ray Attrill, foreign currency strategist at National Australia Bank.
– Key figures around 1040 GMT –
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,562.21 points
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 7,875.83
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 21,446.01
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 38,798.37 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.8 percent at 20,789.96 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: Closed for a holiday
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 44,421.91 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0342 from $1.0302 on Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2434 from $1.2407
Dollar/yen: UP at 155.31 yen from 154.80 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 83.18 pence from 83.03 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.8 percent at $71.87 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.1 percent at $75.10 per barrel
© 2024 AFP
