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European stocks, US futures fall
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Dollar up 0.3% versus Canadian currency, euro off 0.2%
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Bitcoin hits record high, gold strong
(Updates throughout)
By Stella Qiu and Amanda Cooper
SYDNEY/LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) - Global stocks fell on
Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up his tariff
war against Canada, leaving Europe squarely in the firing line,
sparking a modest investor push into safe havens like gold,
while bitcoin hit a new record high.
The Canadian dollar fell after Trump issued a letter late on
Thursday that stated a 35% tariff rate on all imports from
Canada would apply from August 1, adding the European Union
would receive a letter by Friday.
The U.S. president, whose global wave of tariffs has upended
businesses and policymaking, floated a blanket 15% or 20% tariff
rate on other countries, a step up from the current 10% baseline
rate. This week he surprised Brazil, which has a trade surplus
with the United States, with duties of 50%, and hit copper,
pharmaceuticals and semiconductor chips.
Aside from pockets of volatility in target currencies,
stocks or commodities, markets have offered little in the way of
reaction to the onslaught, leaving the VIX volatility index
at its lowest since late February.
In Europe, the STOXX 600, which has risen 2.2% this
week, fell 0.7%. Futures on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq
fell 0.6%, pointing to a retreat from this week's record
highs at the open later.
"The market is becoming a bit numb to these (tariff)
announcements, and perhaps it's not until we see hard data
showing an impact that we (will) start to see the market
reacting," City Index strategist Fiona Cincotta said.
"Obviously, we're getting more information through that does
bring with it an element of clarity. Because there is so much
uncertainty, there is still this idea that Trump could be open
to negotiation, nothing feels 'final' still," she said.
The dollar rose 0.3% against the Canadian dollar to C$1.3695
. The euro, which has lost nearly 1% in value
since the start of July, was down 0.2% at $1.1683.
Earlier in the week, Trump pushed back his tariff deadline
of July 9 to August 1 for many trading partners to allow more
time for negotiations, but broadened his trade war, setting new
rates for a number of countries, including allies Japan and
South Korea, along with a 50% tariff on copper.
Joseph Capurso, head of international economics at the
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said the tariff rate of 35% on
Canada was not as bad as feared because most of the imports are
still subject to exemptions under the United
States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
"Now the tariff rate on imports from the EU ... That's what
we don't know as yet," Capurso said. "If you get something
similar to (the U.S.-China trade war in April), that's going to
be very destabilising."
Wall Street indexes posted record closing highs on Thursday
as AI chip maker Nvidia ( NVDA ) made history, bagging a market
valuation above $4 trillion.
Gold rose for a third day in a row, up 0.6% to $3,342
an ounce, bringing gains for July so far to 1.2%. Treasuries got
less of a safe-haven boost, as investor concern about the
fragility of long-term U.S. government finances prompted a
selloff that pushed yields up.
Benchmark 10-year yields rose 3 basis points to
4.38%, adding to Thursday's rise on the back of data that showed
jobless claims unexpectedly fell last week.
The yen, which also typically behaves like a safe-haven, has
been steadily weakening as the prospects dim for a U.S.-Japan
trade deal. The dollar was up 0.4% on Friday at 146.76 yen
, set for a weekly gain of 1.6%, the biggest this year.
Bitcoin jumped 3.8% to $117,880, the highest on
record.
Investors will be watching second-quarter corporate earnings
next week to gauge the impact of Trump's tariffs from April 2.
JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) is due to release results on Tuesday,
essentially kicking off the reporting period.
Oil prices fell, extending the previous day's losses to
leave Brent crude down nearly 2% at $68.88 a barrel.