financetom
Market
financetom
/
Market
/
Traders see tariffs, inflation as 2025's biggest market movers, survey shows
News World Market Environment Technology Personal Finance Politics Retail Business Economy Cryptocurrency Forex Stocks Market Commodities
Traders see tariffs, inflation as 2025's biggest market movers, survey shows
Feb 5, 2025 4:56 PM

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Traders across the globe project that tariffs and inflation will have the biggest impact on global markets in 2025 as they brace for volatility, an annual survey of institutional trading clients by JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) showed on Wednesday.

The bank said 51% of its 4,233 respondents named inflation and tariffs together as the top potential developments likely to dominate markets this year. Last year, inflation was also a top concern, but only for 27% of the interviewees.

U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to impose tariffs on foreign-imported goods and others aimed at specific sectors or countries already have whipsawed markets this year.

Major stock indexes fell on Monday after Trump announced on Saturday hefty new tariffs of 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada, and 10% on China. The following day, they rose after the president delayed tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

Many market participants see the tariff policy as inflationary.

"At the beginning of the week, we saw traders engaging in significantly more activity, attempting to rebalance their portfolios due to movements of 1 to 2 percent in individual currencies such as the Canadian dollar, the Mexican peso, and the offshore Chinese yuan," said Chi Nzelu, global head of fixed income, currencies and commodities e-Trading at JPMorgan ( JPM ).

On the flip side, fewer traders believe that a potential recession could move markets this year: 7% versus 18% in 2024.

When asked about the biggest challenge in 2025, volatility was the topic most mentioned by the traders, repeating a 2024 concern. This year, 41% of respondents cited it as the top challenge, while 28% of the respondents mentioned it in the 2024 survey.

"What distinguishes this year is the somewhat unexpected timing of volatility. Unlike in the past, when volatility was tied to scheduled events like elections or nonfarm payroll data, we're seeing more sudden fluctuations in response to news headlines around the administration's plans, leading to knee-jerk reactions in the marketplace," said Eddie Wen, global head of digital markets at JPMorgan ( JPM ).

JPMorgan's ( JPM ) e-Trading report also asked traders about their biggest concerns in terms of market structure, with access to liquidity, regulatory change and market data access and costs leading the pack.

Among the trends captured by the bank's survey is the increase of electronic trading, which traders predict will increase among all products traded next year, from emerging market rates to commodities and credit spread.

Comments
Welcome to financetom comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Related Articles >
GRAPHIC-US equity funds extend inflows on Iran de-escalation hopes
GRAPHIC-US equity funds extend inflows on Iran de-escalation hopes
Apr 17, 2026
April 17 (Reuters) - U.S. equity funds attracted strong demand in the week through April 15 as expectations of an early resolution to the Iran conflict and resilient corporate results boosted risk appetite. Investors poured a net $21.25 billion into U.S. equity funds, extending a buying streak to a fourth straight week, LSEG Lipper data showed. The benchmark S&P 500...
Surging record-high US stocks to wade deeper into earnings season
Surging record-high US stocks to wade deeper into earnings season
Apr 17, 2026
NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters) - Investors will look to a heavy week of U.S. corporate results to further fuel a stunning rebound in the U.S. stock market, which has shaken off war-related concerns to reach record peaks. Hopes for a cooling of U.S.-Iran tensions have led to a sharp rally this month, culminating with major U.S. stock indexes minting...
Wall St Week Ahead-Surging record-high US stocks to wade deeper into earnings season
Wall St Week Ahead-Surging record-high US stocks to wade deeper into earnings season
Apr 17, 2026
* S&P 500, Nasdaq notch all-time highs after sharp rebound * Heavy earnings week includes Tesla, Boeing ( BA ), P&G * Hearing for Trump Fed pick could draw market's attention By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters) - Investors will look to a heavy week of U.S. corporate results to further fuel a stunning rebound in the U.S....
Social Buzz: Wallstreetbets Stocks Mixed Pre-Bell Friday; Netflix to Fall, Microsoft to Gain
Social Buzz: Wallstreetbets Stocks Mixed Pre-Bell Friday; Netflix to Fall, Microsoft to Gain
Apr 17, 2026
06:34 AM EDT, 04/17/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The most-talked-about stocks in the Reddit subforum Wallstreetbets were mixed hours before Friday's opening bell. Netflix ( NFLX ) fell more than 10% pre-bell after gaining 0.1% in the previous session. AMD (AMD) was down by 0.3% pre-bell, after a 7.8% gain at Thursday's close. Microsoft ( MSFT ) was 1.1% higher premarket,...
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.financetom.com All Rights Reserved