After the first Asian trades on Wednesday, one key US Treasuries yield nudged back above 4.33 percent amid an overall risk-off mood. This provision comes on the heels of a strong consumer confidence report, announced Tuesday. The annual report showed record growth in the number of people predicting lower stock prices a year from now. At the same time, oil prices were up in early trading on Wednesday after an industry report pointed to a surprise drawdown in US inventories. Oil was little changed while the dollar was steady after ending a four-day advance on Tuesday.
HSBC Holdings Plc’s strategists, headed by Max Kettner, have taken a momentous step. Due to increasing economic uncertainty, they have recently downgraded US stocks to underweight. According to Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at Kohle Capital Markets Pty, the jump comes after a brutal selloff in the US market. As an alarmist warning, he advised investors and consumers to be prudent and prevent the worst from happening.
"Treading carefully may still be the mantra opted for by financial markets until we see who or what is spared from Trump’s next tariff hit-list,” said Tim Waterer.
That was enough to help the S&P 500 rise by 0.2 percent on Tuesday. This increase followed a day of volatility and represented its longest uptick series in just shy of seven weeks. This increase was moderated by a dip in consumer confidence. Tech megacaps were up 1.2 percent. At the same time, Tesla Inc. kept up an amazing momentum of its own, lengthening its five-day runup to 28 percent. In contrast, Nvidia Corp. suffered a drop. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index declined for a sixth consecutive day. That’s its worst losing streak in more than a year.
President Donald Trump had some things to say recently about new “reciprocal” tariffs. His comments, which will be formally released on April 2, provided some reassurance to the rattled markets. However, uncertainty continues to overshadow the market as investors continue to wrestle with policy uncertainty.
"There’s a little bit of paralysis with market participants not knowing what to do because they don’t know what policy is going to go into place," stated Charles Ashley at Catalyst Funds.
US copper rose to an all-time high, introducing yet another layer of complication to the already chaotic market environment. As Bret Kenwell at eToro recently observed, investor, consumer, and business sentiment is dropping like a rock. This move is primarily fueled by increasing economic burdens and policy uncertainty.
"Sentiment continues to wane among investors, consumers and businesses as economic concerns and economic policy uncertainty takes its toll,” noted Bret Kenwell.
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