Trump tariffs shift weighs on sentiment

Global markets remain ambivalent as President Donald Trump’s unpredictable tariff tinkering weighed down sentiment even as Wall Street stocks shot higher following reassuring comments from the head of the Federal Reserve.

After a down day in Europe, US stocks looked poised for another rocky round following mixed employment data.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare said investors were reassured by a midday appearance from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who said the US central bank is in no hurry to shift course on monetary policy.

“When Powell came out with a calm and reassuring tone, it gave the market an excuse to rally,” O’Hare said.

All three major US indices finished the day in positive territory.

The broad-based S&P 500 finished at 5,770.20, up 0.6 percent for the day but down 3.1 percent for the week.

Earlier, US jobs data for February showed the country’s economy added 151,000 jobs last month, up from January’s revised 125,000 figure, but fewer than analysts’ estimates as unemployment ticked higher.

Analysts described the report as unspectacular but good enough to suggest the labor market is not weakening precipitously.

Marts unnerved

But global markets have been unnerved by Trump’s gyrations on trade policy.

“US President Trump’s bewildering tariff policy is creating heightened uncertainty and investor concern with hedge funds having liquidated global equity positions at the fastest rate on record,” Axel Rudolph, senior technical analyst at online trading platform IG said.

London finished flat, but in Frankfurt the DAX closed 1.8 percent down, and France’s CAC 40 lost 1.0 percent.

Trump caused disarray on trading floors after he announced Thursday he would delay tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods covered under a North American trade agreement until 2 April days after they had taken effect following a previous delay.

The decision came after a similar one-month reprieve for automakers following talks with Ford, General Motors and Jeep owner Stellantis.

But Trump has said he will not modify broad tariffs for steel and aluminum imports, due to take effect next week, while China was hit with 20-percent tariffs earlier this week.

“Even though Donald Trump has made more goods exempt from tariffs on Canada and Mexico, it’s the constant tinkering that’s upset investors,” noted AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“The fact Trump keeps changing his mind confuses matters as companies have no idea what’s going on from one day to the next,” he added.

Japan’s Nikkei shares index led losses in Asia, closing down more than two percent.

Chinese markets, which had been riding a wave of stimulus-induced optimism, ended the week modestly lower.

Elsewhere, bitcoin plunged as much as 5.7 percent before rallying slightly after Trump signed an executive order to establish a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” without planning any public purchases of the cryptocurrency.