Wall Street's optimism vanished late Wednesday as President Trump’s sweeping new tariffs triggered a sharp selloff in U.S. equity futures and a flight to safe-haven assets, casting a shadow over global trade outlook and corporate margins. Key Market Moves Instrument Move S&P 500 Futures -3.5% Nasdaq 100 Futures -4.5% Treasury Futures Surged (Yields fell sharply) Japanese Yen Gained as safe haven AUD & NZD Bonds Rallied Tariff Summary A 10% baseline tariff on all U.S. imports. Additional tariffs on ~60 countries, with higher duties targeting China, EU, and Vietnam . Steel and aluminum imports spared from the new round but remain under existing 25% duties. “Eye-watering tariffs scream ‘negotiation tactic,’ which will keep markets on edge for the foreseeable future.” — Adam Hetts, Janus Henderson Investors Sector Impact Major declines hit consumer, tech, and industrial names: Company Sector Move Nike, Gap, Lululemon Retail (Vietnam-based) -...
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| Wall Street Update |
Wall Street has seen an early rally lost steam yesterday as market closed mix, with the Dow Jones Industrial average turned negative and fell 100 points, or 0.6%, to 15,915, after being up for most of the day and rising as high as 190 points in early trading. The early rally was sparked after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's prepared remarks to lawmakers cited emerging headwinds that could signal a pause in its plan to raise interest rates.
S & P 500 was off its earlier highs and ended up down just 0.02% to 1852. The Nasdaq composite index rose 15 points, or 0.4%, to 4284.
Investors continue to remain nervous about a potential slowing down of the economy and uncertainty surrounding plans for further interest rate hikes.
Analysts were hoping that Yellen would hint that the Federal Reserve could hold off on additional rate hikes, due to tightening financial conditions caused by market tumult and slowing global growth since its December meeting, when it hiked interest rates for the first time in nearly 10 years.
Wall Street continued to closely watch oil prices, following a sharp plunge Tuesday. U.S.-produced crude was down 1.5% to $27.52 a barrel after rallying earlier to as high as $29.22.
European stock markets enjoyed a relief rally, ending two days of sharp losses. The Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 1.8%. In Germany, the DAX was 1.6% higher and in Paris the CAC 40 was up 1.6%.
Shares in Japan again fell sharply, following Tuesday's 5.4% drop. The Nikkei 225 closed down 2.3%, hurt by a rising yen versus the dollar, which hurts Japanese exporters.
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