The week started with another bang from Trump who used the meeting with reporters on his Air Force One to announce 25% tariffs on imports of steel e aluminum in the United States, with the promise of further reciprocal tariffs on Tuesday or Wednesday. At the same time, the new retaliatory tariffs of the China on the United States, while the German Chancellor Scholz said that the EU is ready to respond to duties “within an hour”. Tariffs could exert upward pressure on inflation US and further limit the room for maneuver of the Federal Reserve to ease monetary policy: Jerome Powell will appear before the House of Representatives on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the impact of tariffs on monetary policy will certainly be a hot topic.
Dollar Slightly Higher, Treasury Yields Recover
Investors react to Trump's new announcement buying the dollar which is however slightly up on the main currencies, with its index remaining at 108,265. The euro fell 0,1% to $1,0315, while the Australian dollar exposed to trading fell to $0,6270. The dollar bounced 0,3% on the yen, settling at 151,87, recovering some of the ground recently lost due to speculation that the Bank of Japan will raise rates in the coming months.
The risk of a resurgence of inflation has also hit the treasury bonds, and 4,490-year bond yields settled at 4,400%, from last week's low of XNUMX%. The strength of the dollar and higher yields did not prevent prices Of their to hit record highs of $2.886 an ounce, helped in part by rumors that Trump may impose tariffs on the metal. That has led to increased demand for physical gold from London, to be shipped to the United States to avoid new duties. The metal is up 0,5% today. The market Petroleum rebounded after three weeks of losses and Brent rose 51 cents to $75,17, while U.S. crude rose 45 cents to $71,45 a barrel, but investors fear a trade war could hurt global economic growth and thus energy demand.
I Wall Street futures started lower but quickly recovered as investors anticipated another week of gains. S&P 500 futures strengthened 0,3%, while Nasdaq futures added 0,5%. Stocks were roiled by some mixed earnings data last week, though overall earnings per share growth came in at 12%, beating initial expectations of 8%.
New duties on steel and aluminum for “everyone”
Aboard Air Force One, US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he will introduce new duties of 25% on all imports of steel e aluminum in the United States, in addition to existing metal tariffs. Speaking to reporters on his way to the NFL Super Bowl in New Orleans, Trump said that will announce new tariffs on metals today, while on Tuesday or Wednesday he will announce the reciprocal rates, which will take effect almost immediately, applying to all countries and adjusting them to the tariff rates applied by each country. “Simply put, if they charge a tariff, we charge them,” Trump said of the reciprocal tariff plan. Asked to clarify who the measure will be addressed to, Trump clarified: “all”. However, there was no indication of the timing, not even his staff was able to indicate when the new duties could be implemented and operational.
According to government data and the American Iron and Steel Institute, the major sources of steel imports from the United States are Canada, Brazil and Mexico, Followed by South Korea and Vietnam. By a wide margin, the Canada, rich in hydroelectricity, is the leading supplier of primary aluminum to the United States, accounting for 79% of total imports in the first 11 months of 2024 and supporting key U.S. industries from defense to shipbuilding to automotive.
Asian Stocks Uncertain, But Hong Kong Shines With Alibaba, Xiaomi
Asian stocks are mixed. While the index Msci Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0,3%, Nikkei Japanese is up 0,2%. But the index is shining Hang Seng of Hong Kong which gains 1,5% and marks the third session in positive territory, on highs of the last four monthsi. From the lows of January, with the arrival of news on the topic ofartificial intelligence made in China, the index rose by more than 20%. Xiaomi and Alibaba, considered beneficiaries of the progress announced by the Chinese startup DeepSeek have gained nearly 30%. The two stocks are up 2,4% and 5,3% today. Most shares of Chinese e-commerce platforms are rising after U.S. President Donald Trump delayed the suspension of the de minimis exemption, temporarily maintaining the duty-free status of low-value packages from China. The delay is expected until “adequate systems are in place to fully and efficiently process and collect customs duties,” giving retailers such as Alibaba and JD.com a temporary reprieve.
In South Korea, the main index fell 0,1%, led by losses from steelmakers. China's blue chips were almost unchanged. Beijing again set a firm benchmark for its currency, the yuan, but it fell to a three-week low of around 7,3078. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest independent semiconductor maker, announced consolidated net revenues for January 2025 of NT$293,29 billion (about €8,7 billion), up 5,4% from December 2024 and up 35,9% from January 2024.
The CSI 300 index of the lists of Shanghai and Shenzhen is about equality. In China consumer inflation accelerated for the first time since August, above expectations, driven by a surge in household spending during the Lunar New Year holiday. The consumer price index rose 0,5 percent in January from a year earlier, compared with a 0,1 percent gain in the previous month. Services prices rose 0,9 percent, accounting for more than 50 percent of the total CPI increase. The stock exchange Taiwan started the week down, TAIEX index -0,9%, after four consecutive sessions of growth. Slightly down Sidney.
European stocks seen opening positive
European stocks are expected to open higher on the basis of the +0,32% recorded by the Eurostoxx50 future
MPS exercised the early repayment option on €750 million Senior Fixed to Floating Rate Callable Senior Notes due 2 March 2026.
Team: Rumors report that Post is evaluating an investment in the telecommunications company, while Iliad and the private equity fund CVC Capital Partners have already shown interest.
