Stocks Fall on Trade Jitters as Dollar Halts Slide: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — US stock futures fell as uncertainty over American trade policy clouded sentiment. The dollar recouped losses while precious metals advanced.
S&P 500 futures dropped 0.5%, with investors assessing the possible fallout from a new 15% global tariff after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s emergency levies. The greenback erased a 0.3% drop. Gold climbed after a run of three weekly gains. Bitcoin briefly slid below $65,000.
The latest questions over tariffs are giving traders another focal point in markets unsettled by concerns about artificial intelligence and Middle East tensions. In what is shaping up to be an uneasy start to the week, investors must also contend with Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday and Nvidia Corp.’s earnings the following day.
“Markets quickly realized that the ruling might not change much in the near term and will rather increase uncertainties,” said Stephan Kemper, chief investment strategist at BNP Paribas Wealth Management. “Donald Trump is not known to avoid a fight or give up easily.”
Contracts for the Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.6% as most technology megacaps fell in premarket trading. Novo Nordisk A/S slumped 14% in Copenhagen after its Cagrisema obesity shot fell short of Eli Lilly & Co.’s rival in a trial.
Treasuries were marginally higher, with the 10-year yield falling one basis point to 4.07%. US natural gas prices rose as a winter storm swept the northeastern region. European stocks fell 0.3%.
Questions over tariffs could reinforce this year’s pattern of US stocks lagging global peers, with policy surprises pushing investors toward alternatives. Meanwhile, uncertainty over long-term trade policy and its potential impact on earnings is likely to add further pressure on US equities.
Investors are now trying to gauge how the 15% global tariff will affect countries with existing trade deals and whether the new levies can withstand legal scrutiny. The European Union is poised to freeze the ratification process of its deal with the US and is seeking more details from the Trump administration.
However, senior US officials, including Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, signaled over the weekend that the court decision wouldn’t unravel agreements already negotiated.
“The question is about the benefit of the rebates versus the extra uncertainty that the trade issues are causing, and for me the latter wins,” JPMorgan Asset Management Global Market Strategist Hugh Gimber told Bloomberg TV. “That for me risks putting business activity on hold, because companies simply don’t know what’s to come further down the line.”
For JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists, an equity-market pullback driven by global tariff policies or an escalation in Iran, could create dip-buying opportunities as long as the macro backdrop remains positive.
“Adverse geopolitical headlines” could lead to de-risking given the recent rally and stretched technicals, wrote the team led by Mislav Matejka. “But we believe that these will not be long-lasting, and should be seen as buying opportunities.”
What Bloomberg Strategists Say:
“Global trade uncertainty is back as an issue for investors and that’s bad news for US assets. The dollar’s slide has the potential to extend, and the S&P 500’s underperformance relative to peers will become more entrenched as investors price in the impact.”
—Garfield Reynolds, MLIV Asia Team Leader. Click here for the full analysis.
Corporate Highlights:
Gilead Sciences Inc. agreed to buy US biotech Arcellx Inc. in a deal with an equity value of up to $7.8 billion. Merck & Co. will split its human-health business into two divisions, the Wall Street Journal reports. Novo Nordisk A/S’s next-generation obesity shot CagriSema delivered less weight loss than Eli Lilly & Co.’s rival blockbuster in a trial, another blow to the experimental drug’s sales potential that could limit its role in the weight-loss market. Honeywell International Inc. has slashed its price to acquire Johnson Matthey Plc’s Catalyst Technologies in a move to save the deal from falling apart. Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Hynix Inc.’s parent SK Group pledged to grow production of AI memory chips to meet a surge in demand from the global data center buildout. Stocks
S&P 500 futures fell 0.5% as of 7:18 a.m. New York time Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.6% Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.3% The MSCI World Index was little changed Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1782 The British pound was little changed at $1.3487 The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 154.86 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 2.1% to $66,187.98 Ether fell 1.8% to $1,915.6 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.07% Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.74% Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.35% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed Spot gold rose 0.9% to $5,151.05 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Rose Henderson.
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