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Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Stocks jump after Trump's EU tariff pause
In a move that's become something of a strategic mantra, President Donald Trump announced a pause on his promise to enact a new 50% trade tariff on import goods from the European Union following a conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over the weekend. In a posting to Truth Social Monday morning, Trump defended last week's tariff declaration but said the progression of trade talks with EU officials was a positive sign that a new agreement could be reached. 'I was extremely satisfied with the 50% Tariff allotment on the European Union, especially since they were 'slow walking (to put it mildly!), our negotiations with them,'' Trump wrote. 'Remember, I am empowered to 'SET A DEAL' for Trade into the United States if we are unable to make a deal, or are treated unfairly. I have just been informed that the E.U. has called to quickly establish meeting dates. This is a positive event, and I hope that they will, FINALLY, like my same demand to China, open up the European Nations for Trade with the United States of America. They will BOTH be very happy, and successful, if they do!!!' Investors were spooked by Trump's announcement last Friday that he was considering new tariffs on EU goods as well as foreign-made Apple iPhones and the major U.S. stock indexes all showed declines to end the week. But markets were buoyed by a Trump social media post on Sunday indicating that he was pushing out a potential start date for new EU tariffs from June 1 to July 9. Around midday Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up over 1.3%, the S&P 500 had gained 1.6% and the Nasdaq Composite had gained over 2%. In a Saturday post on X, von der Leyen shared an upbeat report on her talk with Trump and noted the 27-nation EU was poised to move forward with U.S. trade talks. 'Good call with @POTUS,' von der Leyen wrote. 'The EU and US share the world's most consequential and close trade relationship. Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively. To reach a good deal, we would need the time until July 9." New data showing an unexpectedly sharp rise in consumer confidence in May was also helping boost investor markets following the Memorial Day holiday. The Conference Board reported on Tuesday its Consumer Confidence Index increased by 12.3 points in May to 98.0, up from 85.7 in April. The jump exceeded the Dow Jones Consensus expectation of an 86 reading, per a report from CNBC. Stephanie Guichard, senior economist for the Conference Board, said declining international trade tensions had a positive impact on U.S. consumer outlooks across multiple categories. 'Consumer confidence improved in May after five consecutive months of decline,' Guichard said in the report. 'The rebound was already visible before the May 12 U.S.-China trade deal but gained momentum afterwards. The monthly improvement was largely driven by consumer expectations as all three components of the Expectations Index — business conditions, employment prospects and future income — rose from their April lows." While consumer confidence was mostly on the rise in May, Americans' collective feelings about job prospects remained a weak spot. 'Consumers were less pessimistic about business conditions and job availability over the next six months and regained optimism about future income prospects,' Guichard said. 'Consumers' assessments of the present situation also improved. However, while consumers were more positive about current business conditions than last month, their appraisal of current job availability weakened for the fifth consecutive month.' The new report also notes consumers had a positive response to trends in U.S. investment markets which have, in spite of last Friday's down cycle, been mostly in recovery mode since the most severe of Trump's earlier trade decrees were put on pause. 'With the stock market continuing to recover in May, consumers' outlook on stock prices improved, with 44% expecting stock prices to increase over the next 12 months (up from 37.6% in April) and 37.7% expecting stock prices to decline (down from 47.2% in April)," Guichard said. 'This was one of the survey questions with the strongest improvement after the May 12 trade deal.' On May 12, Trump announced a 90-day pause on his previous 145% tariff assessment on many imported goods from China. That move followed an April 9 pause on a wide swath of reciprocal international tariffs revealed a week earlier in Trump's self-proclaimed 'Liberation Day' decree. The on-again, off-again tariff policy gyrations have cast a cloud of uncertainty over the U.S. business sector and roiled investment markets. And a growing number of U.S. businesses, including retail giant Walmart, have recently signaled coming price increases due to tariff assessments, in spite of the various pauses on previously announced levies. Here's where new U.S. tariffs stand for the moment: China tariffs now at 30%, including a 10% base rate and 20% fentanyl-targeted levy. Tariffs of 25% are in place on steel and aluminum imports, imported automobiles and goods from Canada and Mexico not covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Imports from all other countries are subject to a 10% trade levy. Sign in to access your portfolio
The Star
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Asian stocks track Wall St rally as trade fears ease, eyes on Japan debt
HONG KONG: Asian equities rose Wednesday (May 28) following a Wall Street rally as traders cheered forecast-beating US consumer confidence data and a drop in bond yields, with eyes now on a key sale of Japanese debt. New York investors returned to their desks after a long weekend break in a good mood after Donald Trump delayed until July the 50 percent tariffs he announced out of the blue on Friday, sparking a market rout. The US president's announcement Sunday soothed worries about a fresh flare-up in his trade war that has rattled global sentiment, fanned uncertainty and led some to question their confidence in the world's biggest economy. Buying was also boosted by Trump's post on social media saying progress with Brussels was being made. "I have just been informed that the EU has called to quickly establish meeting dates," he said on his Truth Social platform. "This is a positive event, and I hope that they will, FINALLY, like my same demand to China, open up the European Nations for Trade with the United States of America." Markets also cheered data showing a bigger-than-expected jump in US consumer confidence thanks to a slight easing of trade tensions, particularly with China. The lift in the Conference Board's index was the first improvement after five months of decline and dragged it up from lows last seen at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the report did warn that tariffs remained a key concern. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta all rose. Wellington was in the red even after New Zealand's central bank cut interest rates for the sixth meeting in a row. Tokyo was also on the front foot as investors eye the crucial sale of Japanese 40-year government bonds, after an auction of 20-year notes this month saw the worst take-up in more than a decade. The cost of government debt has surged around the world in recent weeks -- hitting record highs last week in Japan - amid worries about rising spending as leaders try to support their economies and after Trump's April 2 tariff blitz. However, yields tumbled Tuesday after Japan's Ministry of Finance sent a questionnaire to market players regarding issuance, fuelling talk that it was considering slowing its sales down, meaning there would be less supply. Masahiko Loo, senior fixed income strategist at State Street Global Advisors, said the recent panic over the Japanese government bond (JGB) market may have been overdone. "We maintain our long-standing view that the challenges in the JGB market are technical rather than structural. These issues are largely addressable through adjustments in issuance volume or composition," he wrote in a commentary. "We believe the concern on loss of control over the super-long end is overblown. Around 90 percent of JGBs are domestically held, and the 'don't fight the BOJ/MOF' mantra remains a powerful anchor," he added, referring to the Bank of Japan and Ministry of Finance. "Any perceived supply-demand imbalance is more a matter of timing mismatches, which is a technical dislocation rather than a fundamental flaw. "We expect these imbalances to be resolved as early as the third quarter of 2025. The MOF potential reduction headline reinforces our view." The drop in Japanese yields sent the yen lower Tuesday, and it held those losses in early trade Wednesday, sitting around 144.30 per dollar. - AFP
Wall Street Journal
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Vladimir Putin Is a Peace-Talks No Show
President Trump wants peace in Ukraine, but Vladimir Putin keeps tapping the U.S. along. Witness the Russian leader's embarrassing no-show in Istanbul Thursday. This revealing episode began last week as the leaders of the major European nations proposed 'a full and unconditional 30-day cease-fire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.' That's also a goal of Ukraine and Mr. Trump, but again Mr. Putin responded with a hard nyet.
