Stocks make little progress, gold rises as tariff news looms

NEW YORK/LONDON: US equities were barely changed while European stocks fell on Wednesday and safe-haven gold was in demand as investors anxiously awaited details of US President Donald Trump’s tariff plans and worried about an intensifying global trade war.

Investor focus on Wednesday was firmly on reciprocal levies the White House is due to announce after the US stock market close, in what Trump has called America’s “Liberation Day.”

Trump is expected to add new trade tariffs that take effect immediately, adding to already imposed levies on aluminium, steel and autos, along with increased duties on all goods from China that have rattled markets as fears grow a full-blown trade war could trigger a sharp global economic slowdown.

European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday that the tariffs will be negative across the world, with the damage depending on how far they go, how long they last and whether they lead to successful negotiations.

With so much focus on trade, stock futures barely moved after Wednesday’s a survey of US private sector employment showed a rise of 155,000 in the number of workers on payroll, above a forecast for an increase of 115,000. On Tuesday the Labour Department said US job openings fell in February.

“Right now we’re all waiting with baited breath to see what the ultimate tariff policy will be. Seeing a little bit of a selloff is not surprising,” said Don Calcagni, chief investment officer at Mercer Advisors in Denver.

“A lot of concern about tariffs, has already been priced in. The question is when President Trump speaks at 4PM today, how final is this new tariff policy? If it sounds like there’s room for it to change yet again that’s going to fuel more volatility. The market right now is looking for certainty and its really up to President Trump to deliver on that.”

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq .IXIC ended Tuesday’s choppy session with gains while the Dow .DJI finished a shade lower.

On Wednesday at 11:01 a.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 68.25 points, or 0.16%, to 42,058.42, the S&P 500 .SPX rose 6.05 points, or 0.11%, to 5,639.12 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC rose 6.81 points, or 0.04%, to 17,457.40.

MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS rose 0.21 points, or 0.02%, to 832.32. The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX index fell 0.67%.

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In currencies, the US dollar fell against major peers such as the euro, yen and sterling on Wednesday, as traders awaited tariff details, which could potentially upend global trade and shake financial markets.

The dollar index =USD, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.38% to 103.80.

The euro EUR= was up 0.55% at $1.0852 while sterling GBP= strengthened 0.34% to $1.2962.

But against the Japanese yen JPY=, the dollar strengthened 0.08% to 149.72.

In Treasuries, the yield on benchmark US 10-year notes US10YT=RR rose 0.7 basis points to 4.165%, from 4.156% late on Tuesday. The 30-year bond US30YT=RR yield fell 0.1 basis points to 4.5136% from 4.515% late on Tuesday.

The 2-year note US2YT=RR yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, rose 2.6 basis points to 3.889%, from 3.863% late on Tuesday.

The price of gold, viewed as a safe haven in times of financial and political stress, climbed back towards an intraday record. GOL/ Gold has jumped about 19% so far this year, adding to a 27% gain in 2024 that was its best annual performance since 2010.

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On Wednesday, spot gold XAU= rose 0.49% to $3,125.85 an ounce. US gold futures GCc1 rose 0.59% to $3,137.30 an ounce.

In energy markets, oil prices were mixed after US data showed a surprise large build in us crude inventories.

US crude CLc1 rose 0.14% to $71.30 a barrel and Brent LCOc1 fell to $74.45 per barrel, down 0.05% on the day.