Trump’s tariffs are reverberating as we count down to the main event before the weekend. The US administration announced the revised reciprocal tariffs list and that sees the US follow through on implementing higher tariffs on a host of countries, marking a step up from the blanket 10% tariffs before.
Equities found it tough to find much optimism to start August trading, with no help from Apple and Amazon earnings – both of which also reinforcing negative impact from tariffs. S&P 500 futures were down around 0.3% early on but have now extended losses to 1%.
In Europe, the DAX is down close to 2% while the CAC 40 is already down by that much and has erased all of its gains for July already. Talk about a painful start to August trading.
As the risk mood keeps on the defensive, the dollar is seen keeping steadier across the board once again. And namely, major currencies are reflecting a more tariff-like reaction. USD/CHF is the big mover, seen up 0.4% to 0.8160 after Trump hit Switzerland with 39% tariffs – one of the highest on the list.
EUR/USD is barely moved at 1.1410, though it did touch a low of 1.1395 earlier in the session. Meanwhile, GBP/USD is also down 0.3% to 1.3160 while NZD/USD is down 0.4% to 0.5863 on the day. The former looks poised for a seventh straight day of declines while the latter is shoved lower after New Zealand was hit with 15% tariffs in the latest list.
In other markets, Treasury yields are holding a little higher while gold is also steadier but eyes a test of its 100-day moving average – a level that it has not firmly broken below since 2023. As for cryptocurrencies, we’re starting to see a loss of momentum with Bitcoin down to near $115,000 and Ethereum slipping to one-week lows – briefly falling below $3,600 earlier.
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