*
US stocks fall again but less sharply after Monday's
selloff
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Treasury yields turn around as does gold
*
Oil prices bounce back
(Updates prices with late morning US trading)
By Sinéad Carew and Alun John
NEW YORK/LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - After falling
sharply on Monday, equities were losing ground again on Tuesday,
though at a slower pace, as U.S. President Donald Trump said he
would double tariffs on Canadian metal imports, fuelling worries
that tariffs could help cause an economic recession.
But U.S. Treasury yields turned higher along with oil prices
even as Trump said on Tuesday that he had instructed his
commerce secretary to add an additional 25% tariff on all steel
and aluminum coming into the United States from Canada, bringing
the total tariff on those products to 50%.
On Monday the S&P 500 suffered its biggest one-day
drop this year, while the Nasdaq saw its biggest
single-day percentage drop since September 2022. This was in
reaction to President Trump's weekend Fox News interview, in
which he declined to rule out a recession resulting from his
trade policies, and talked about a "period of transition."
Adding to concerns about tariffs, Tuesday's data showed U.S.
small-business confidence dropped for a third straight month in
February, wiping away much of the gains notched in the aftermath
of Trump's November election victory.
Along with the confidence slump, Phil Blancato, chief market
strategist at Osaic Wealth in New York, pointed to guidance from
Delta Airlines and retailer Kohl's for a
softening of consumer spending ahead.
"You see all these headlines suggesting a slowing of the
U.S. economy so you're not getting the classic dead cat bounce
you'd want after a day like yesterday," said Blancato.
"You're not seeing a lot of bottom feeders come in just yet.
It's because the headlines haven't cleared up yet. There's still
a lot of uncertainty in a lot of areas and it's leading to a
lack of institutional buying power."
While investors will be hoping for some clarity on tariffs
by early April, Blancato noted that they are also anxiously
awaiting Wednesday's U.S. consumer price index reading for
February for information on inflation conditions.
A high reading would add to last month's
hotter-than-expected data, which included the biggest monthly
price gain since August 2023.
At 12:08 p.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average was
down 483.32 points, or 1.15%, at 41,428.39, the S&P 500
had dropped 40.90 points, or 0.73%, to 5,573.66 and the Nasdaq
Composite was off 47.75 points, or 0.27%, at 17,420.81.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell
6.31 points, or 0.76%, to 826.42. The pan-European STOXX 600
index fell 1.8%.
U.S. Treasury yields steadied, pulling away from five-month
lows hit earlier in the session.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose
3.6 basis points to 4.249%, from 4.213% late on Monday.
The 30-year bond yield rose 4.1 basis points to
4.5804% and the 2-year note yield, which typically
moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal
Reserve, rose 0.8 basis points to 3.904%, from 3.896%.
In currencies, the U.S. dollar rose to a one-week high
against the Canadian dollar while the euro hit a new four-month
peak against the greenback on hopes for a German defence
spending deal.
The Canadian dollar weakened 0.26% to C$1.45 per U.S.
dollar.
The euro was up 0.82% at $1.0921 while against the
Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.09% to 147.39.
Sterling strengthened 0.51% to $1.294.
Oil prices rose with help from some weakness in the dollar
, although gains were capped as concerns mounted over a
U.S. slowdown and the impact of tariffs on global economic
growth.
U.S. crude rose 1.17% to $66.80 a barrel and Brent
rose to $70.12 per barrel, up 1.21% on the day.
Gold prices gained after selling off in the prior day's
session with spot gold up 0.92% at $2,916.10 an ounce and
U.S. gold futures 0.81% higher at $2,914.50 an ounce.
In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin gained 2.36% to
$81,151.44.