Investors Await “Liberation Day” Tariff Announcements
The big day which investors have been awaiting or dreading has finally arrived. At 4:00 pm EDT this afternoon, just after North American markets close, President Trump is expected to make a number of announcements related to new and reciprocal tariffs, a moment that he has been calling “Liberation Day” for weeks. Previous tariff announcements […]
Stocks Slide Into April
The first day of April finds U.S. equities resuming their downward course ahead of tomorrow’s “Liberation Day,” when the U.S. is planning to launch reciprocal tariffs against virtually everyone, with additional measures possible against some countries. This follows a mixed finish to March, which saw the Dow Industrials gain 1.0% while the NASDAQ fell 0.2%. […]
Shaky Start to a Big Week for World Markets
The first day of the new trading week, which is also the last trading day of the month and the quarter, finds stock markets around the world under heavy selling pressure. Overnight, the Nikkei plunged 4.0%, while the Hang Seng fell 1.3%. European trading finds the Dax and CAC both down 2.0%, with the FTSE […]
New High For Gold as Confession Season Approaches
Uncertainty over the impact of tariffs on economies around the world, particularly North America, continues to impact investor sentiment as President Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” approaches. In a sign of investors becoming increasingly cautious, Gold has broken out to a new all time high today climbing above $3,100/oz for the first time ever. Silver, […]
New Tariffs Weigh on the Auto Sector
Yesterday afternoon, President Trump announced a new 25% tariff on all vehicles not made in the United States and threatened to raise tariffs against Canada and the European Union if they work together to fight his tariffs. To some extent investors had been expecting another round of tough talk on tariffs as US indices fell […]
Copper Hits a Thirty-Year High
Somehow lost in all of the political and market volatility of the last several months is that Copper has been on a tear since the start of this year. Back in December Dr. Copper, the commodity most sensitive to global economic conditions, was trading near $4.00/lb. Today, Copper is up 1.3% and trading above $5.25/lb […]
Stock Rally Stalls as Trump Tariff Threats Increase
A two-day rally in stocks appears to be winding down this morning as US index futures are trading up 0.1%-0.2% after US indices soared 1.4% to 2.3% yesterday. Speculation that President Trump may scale back on his “Liberation Day” plan to introduce widespread reciprocal tariffs starting April 2 has faded. Instead of standing down like […]
Stocks Rally on Softer Tariff Speculation
The twists and turns of tariff talks which change from day to day and sometimes even hour to hour have had markets on a roller coaster ride for weeks now. President Trump has been going around calling April 2, the day he plans to roll out reciprocal tariffs against pretty much everyone, “Liberation Day”. Meanwhile, […]
Shoemaker Sales Slump Seen as a Sign of Softness
Heading toward this afternoon’s Quadruple Witching Hour of futures and options expiries, US index futures are trading down 0.3% to 0.5%, with NASDAQ futures the weakest, adding to yesterday’s US index losses of up to 0.3%. European trading finds the Dax down 0.7% and the FTSE down 0.5%. Energy and metals are under pressure as […]
Stocks Retreat as Investors Digest Central Bank News
Yesterday afternoon’s relief rally which pushed US indices to gains of 0.9% to 1.4% has evaporated overnight. This morning finds US index futures down 0.4%-0.6%, while in Europe, the Dax is down 1.5% and the FTSE is down 0.3%. The US Dollar is rallying today, gaining 1.1% against the Australian Dollar, 0.6% against the Euro […]