- Asian stocks edge up, yen weakens on tariff talks
Asian stocks traded in a tight range and the yen weakened after US-Japan trade talks advanced, as investors
adopt a wait-and-see approach to see how other tariff negotiations unfold. Japanese shares gained slightly
after President Donald Trump said negotiators made “big progress” in talks to strike a deal to avoid higher
levies. The yen weakened after the country’s chief trade negotiator said currencies weren’t discussed. Gold
advanced to a record while Treasury yields and a gauge of the dollar inched up. The progress in discussions
with Japan, “while preliminary, offer a small positive signal for markets,” said Rajeev De Mello, a global macro
portfolio manager at Gama Asset Management. “The trajectory of US-Japan trade talks will continue to be
closely monitored, not just for their bilateral implications, but also as a potential framework for how the US
may approach trade relationships with other allies.” Moves in Asia came after a nascent calm across global
markets was shattered by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who signaled a wait-and-see approach to
tariffs and and pushed back on hopes he would act quickly to soothe investor fears. A two-day consolidation
in stocks ended Wednesday after the US ratcheted up trade tensions by putting restrictions on some chip
exports by Nvidia Corp. while China indicated it’s open for talks with the US. - Dow drops nearly 700 points, Nasdaq tumbles 3% in tech-driven sell-off
Stocks fell sharply on Wednesday as a stark warning from Nvidia roiled global tech and concerns from Federal
Reserve Chair Jerome Powell about the economic impact of tariffs raised alarm among skittish investors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 699.57 points, or 1.73%, closing at 39,669.39. The S&P 500 dropped
2.24% to end at 5,275.70, led down by the information technology sector. The Nasdaq Composite pulled back
3.07% to close at 16,307.16. The tech-heavy index ended the day about 19% off its closing high, sliding closer
to bear market territory. Shares of Nvidia sank 6.9% after the chip giant said it will post a $5.5 billion quarterly
charge related to exporting its H20 graphics processing units to China and other nations. The company said in
a filing that the U.S. government required a license to send chips from the U.S. to China. The stock was also
under pressure after The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump’s administration was taking
steps to crack down on Chinese startup DeepSeek, to which Nvidia provides chips. - Oil heads for weekly rise as U.S. adds sanctions on Iran, OPEC cuts
Oil prices extended gains on Thursday on the prospect of tighter supply after Washington imposed further
sanctions to curb Iranian oil trade and as some OPEC producers pledged further output cuts to compensate for
pumping above agreed quotas. Brent crude futures rose 34 cents, or 0.5%, to $66.19 a barrel by 0029 GMT,
and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $62.91 a barrel, up 44 cents, or 0.7%.Both benchmarks settled
2% higher on Wednesday at their highest levels since April 3 and are on track for their first weekly rise in three.
Thursday is the last settlement day of the week ahead of the Good Friday and Easter holidays. President Donald
Trump’s administration issued new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil exports on Wednesday, including against a
China-based “teapot” oil refinery, ramping up pressure on Tehran amid talks on the country’s escalating
nuclear program. Adding to supply concerns, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
said on Wednesday it has received updated plans for Iraq, Kazakhstan and other countries to make
further output cuts to compensate for pumping above quotas. - Profit-booking pulls gold off all-time high
Gold prices eased on Thursday as investors booked profits after bullion hit an all-time high earlier in the session
as restrictions on chip sales to China and continued tariff uncertainty increased demand for the safe-haven
asset. Spot gold slipped 0.1% to $3,339.37 an ounce as of 0312 GMT, after touching a record high of $3,357.40
earlier in the session. Bullion has gained more than 3% so far this week. U.S. gold futures firmed 0.2% to
$3,351.50. “Everything is going gold’s way, propelling prices to fresh record highs. Although pullbacks are
reasonable, the precious metal is poised for further gains as trade bedlam continues,” said Nikos Tzabouras,
Senior Market Analyst at Tradu.com. Marking another escalation in his dispute with trade partners, U.S.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered a probe into potential new tariffs on all critical minerals imports
on top of reviews into pharmaceutical and chip imports. Beijing ordered airlines to not take further deliveries
of Boeing aircraft. “Sino-Western tensions show no signs of easing … and the U.S. dollar has become a casualty
of Trump’s trade policies, with its role as a safe haven now questioned further, strengthening gold’s appeal,”
Tzabouras said. The dollar index hovered near a three-year low hit last week, making gold more attractive for
other currency holders. - UK inflation slows to cooler-than-expected 2.6% in March
The U.K.’s annual inflation rate fell to 2.6% in March, coming in below analyst expectations, according to data
released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had
anticipated the consumer price index would hit 2.7% in the twelve months to March. The rate of price rises in
Britain hit 2.8% in February, after rising sharply to 3% in January. - 245% China tariff causes market confusion
The markets were hit with more tariff confusion on Wednesday after the White House posted a fact sheet
overnight showing that China now faces a tariff of up to 245% on imports of certain goods to the U.S.
The document reads, “China now faces up to a 245% tariff on imports to the United States as a result of its
retaliatory actions.” The 245% figure is higher than the 145% figure markets have been quoting and pricing in.
The White House quickly pointed out the error in people’s assumptions, saying the 245% figure is not new and
that any mention that it is a new tariff is “misleading”. The extra 100% tariff on some goods was already in
place, the White House confirmed. So, while it is true that some goods from China will see a 245% tariff, it is
not a new development. The White House said the figure breaks down like this: 125% reciprocal tariff; 20%
tariff to address fentanyl crisis; Section 301 tariffs on specific goods, between 7.5% and 100%. While the market
can breathe a sigh of relief that this is not a new tariff, the reaction shows how baffling the latest tariffs on
China are. Even veteran market watchers are left with their heads spinning. - China targets U.S. services and other areas as it decries ‘meaningless’ tariff hikes on goods
China last week announced it was done retaliating against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, saying any
further increases by the U.S. would be a “joke,” and Beijing would “ignore” them. Instead of continuing to focus
on tariffing goods, however, China has chosen to resort to other measures, including steps targeting the
American services sector. Trump has jacked up U.S. levies on select goods from China by up to 245% after
several rounds of tit-for-tat measures with Beijing in recent weeks. Before calling it a “meaningless numbers
game,” China last week imposed additional duties on imports from the U.S. of up to 125%. While the Trump
administration has largely focused on pressing ahead with tariff plans, Beijing has rolled out a series of non
tariff restrictive measures including widening export controls of rare-earth minerals and opening antitrust
probes into American companies, such as pharmaceutical giant DuPont and IT major Google.
Before the latest escalation, in February Beijing had put dozens of U.S. businesses on a so-called “unreliable
entity” list, which would restrict or ban firms from trading with or investing in China. American firms such as
PVH, the parent company of Tommy Hilfiger, and Illumina, a gene-sequencing equipment provider, were
among those added to the list. Its tightening of exports of critical mineral elements will require Chinese
companies to secure special licenses for exporting these resources, effectively restricting U.S. access to the key
minerals needed for semiconductors, missile-defense systems and solar cells. - Bank of Canada holds policy rate at 2.75%
The Bank of Canada today maintained its target for the overnight rate at 2.75%, with the Bank Rate at 3% and
the deposit rate at 2.70%. The major shift in direction of US trade policy and the unpredictability of tariffs have
increased uncertainty, diminished prospects for economic growth, and raised inflation expectations. Pervasive
uncertainty makes it unusually challenging to project GDP growth and inflation in Canada and globally. Instead,
the April Monetary Policy Report (MPR) presents two scenarios that explore different paths for US trade policy.
In the first scenario, uncertainty is high but tariffs are limited in scope. Canadian growth weakens temporarily
and inflation remains around the 2% target. In the second scenario, a protracted trade war causes Canada’s
economy to fall into recession this year and inflation rises temporarily above 3% next year. Many other trade
policy scenarios are possible. There is also an unusual degree of uncertainty about the economic outcomes
within any scenario, since the magnitude and speed of the shift in US trade policy are unprecedented. - Apple market cap falls back below $3 trillion as ‘relief rally’ fades amid new tariff uncertainty
Apple (AAPL) stock fell nearly 4% on Wednesday, sending the iPhone maker’s market capitalization back below
$3 trillion as tariff pressures continue to weigh on the company after shares had enjoyed what some analysts
called a “relief rally” earlier in the week. Apple stock surged to start the week, leading the “Magnificent Seven”
stocks higher as investors cheered the Trump administration’s temporary tariff exemptions for tech products
announced over the weekend. The “relief rally,” as Citi’s Atif Malik put it, briefly put Apple’s value back above
the $3 trillion mark after falling to its lowest value in almost a year last week at just under $2.6 trillion.
Apple is still the world’s most valuable company, ahead of Microsoft (MSFT). - Nvidia stock dives as chipmaker sees $5.5 billion hit from ‘surprise’ China chip controls
Nvidia (NVDA) stock sank nearly 7% Wednesday after the AI chipmaker disclosed that it would take a $5.5
billion hit from the US government’s surprise new controls on its semiconductor exports to China. Nvidia said
in a regulatory filing late Tuesday night that the US government informed the company it would require a
special license for exports of its H20 chips made specifically for the Chinese market to comply with US trade
rules. Notably, no licenses for GPU shipments into China have ever been granted, given the US government’s
concern that the chips could be used to build AI supercomputers in the country, Jefferies analyst Blayne Curtis
wrote in an analysis following the news that the latest rule is effectively a ban. Other Wall Street analysts noted
the move was a “surprise,” given a recent report from NPR that the Trump administration had backed off its
plans to restrict Nvidia’s H20 chips following a dinner with CEO Jensen Huang at Mar-a-Lago. Nvidia said it will
incur $5.5 billion in charges in its first quarter from the latest curb. - ASML Stock Falls on Weak Bookings, Soft Sales Outlook
ASML Holding (ASML) shares fell in premarket trading Wednesday after the Dutch manufacturer of
semiconductor-producing machinery reported worse-than-expected first-quarter net bookings and a soft
current-quarter sales outlook. The firm’s Q1 net bookings came to 3.94 billion euros, below the 4.84 billion
euros expected by analysts polled by Visible Alpha. Sales of EUR7.74 billion came in a tick below estimates but
were in line with the company’s sales forecast made last quarter. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) of EUR6.00
topped projections. ASML again affirmed 2025 sales expectations of EUR30 billion to EUR35 billion, but its
second-quarter sales outlook of EUR7.2 billion to EUR7.7 billion was below analysts’ expectations of EUR7.77
billion. “Our conversations so far with customers support our expectation that 2025 and 2026 will be growth
years,” CEO Christophe Fouquet said. “However, the recent tariff announcements have increased uncertainty
in the macro environment and the situation will remain dynamic for a while.” Shares of ASML, whose extreme
ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines are needed to make the most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips,
were roughly 5% lower early Wednesday. They entered the day down about 28% over the past 12 months. - Prologis’ Q1 FFO Beat Estimates, Rental Revenues Rise Y/Y
Prologis, Inc. PLD reported first-quarter 2025 core funds from operations (FFO) per share of $1.42, outpacing
the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.38. This compares favorably with the year-ago quarter’s figure of $1.28.
Reflecting investors’ positive sentiments, shares of the company gained more than 2.5% during the initial hours
of today’s trading session. The quarterly results reflect a rise in rental revenues and healthy leasing activity.
However, high interest expenses are an undermining factor. In addition, this industrial REIT reaffirmed its 2025
core FFO outlook. Prologis generated rental revenues of $1.99 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of
$1.94 billion. The figure increased from the $1.83 billion reported in the year-ago period. Total revenues were
$2.14 billion, up from the year-ago quarter’s $1.96 billion. Per Hamid R. Moghadam, the co-founder and CEO
of the company, “In the near term, policy uncertainty is making customers more cautious. But over the long
term, limited new supply and high construction costs support continued rent growth. We’re confident in the
strength and resilience of our business.”
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