The European stocks rally took a pause on Wednesday amid mixed earnings and after President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats stoked concern about a widening trade war.
The Stoxx 600 Index fluctuated at the open after a gain of around 10% so far this year. Glencore Plc slipped after profit fell, while HSBC Holdings Plc posted better-than-expected earnings. A tech-led advance in Asia stumbled. US equity futures were steady.
Trump brandished possible levies of around 25% on automobile, semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports, with an announcement coming as soon as April 2. The comments added to the fragile picture for markets this week as tentative hopes for an end to the war in Ukraine were tempered by the exclusion of representatives from Kyiv or Europe at talks between the US and Russia. Germans go to the polls in a national election on Sunday.
On Wednesday, traders will be focused on minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent interest-rate meeting for clues on the potential impact of increased tariffs on inflation and interest rates. The dollar was trading little changed against Group-of-10 peers, while yields on 10-year US Treasuries were also steady.
The pound pared gains after a UK inflation report, trading little changed at $1.2616. The currency initially jumped as headline CPI came in hotter than forecast, before trimming its advance as services prices rose less than expected.
Source: Bloomberg
Tested EN...
Asian stock markets weakened for the second consecutive day, indicating that the initial rally that had been "speedy" at the start of the year is starting to lose steam. At the same time, US governmen...
US stocks were mixed on Wednesday as investors weighed uneven economic data against expectations for eventual Federal Reserve easing, with the S&P 500 easing 0.2% and the Dow Jones sliding 0.8% fr...
European stocks were in mixed territory on Wednesday morning, as regional market jitters grow over U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to annex Greenland. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was little chang...
Asian stock markets weakened slightly on Wednesday after posting their best start to the year in history. The decline was driven by a decline in Japanese stocks amid escalating tensions with China. Th...
Oil prices stabilized on Thursday (February 12th), as the market reassigned a risk premium to US-Iran tensions despite US inventory data showing swelling domestic supplies. This movement confirms one thing: geopolitical headlines are still more...
Gold prices weakened slightly on Thursday (February 12th), as more solid US employment data reduced market confidence in an imminent Federal Reserve interest rate cut. The strong employment data prompted market participants to shift expectations of...
The Hang Seng Index reversed its downward trend in Hong Kong on Thursday (February 12th), weakening by around 0.9% to around 27,000 after a strong session earlier. This decline halted the momentum of the short term rally, as investors began to...