(Updates with European trading, refreshes prices)

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Gold hangs near record high on safe-haven flows

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Currency market muted ahead of reciprocal tariffs

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Investors brace for Trump's levies due at 2000 GMT

By Ankur Banerjee and Amanda Cooper

SINGAPORE/LONDON, April 2 (Reuters) - Stocks retreated

on Wednesday, while safe-haven gold held near record highs as a

nervous world awaited details of U.S. President Donald Trump's

tariff plans and investors fretted about the risks of an

intensifying global trade war.

Investor focus in recent weeks has been firmly on the new

round of reciprocal levies that the White House is due to

announce on Wednesday at 2000 GMT and which are expected to take

effect immediately after Trump announces them.

Trump has already imposed tariffs on aluminium, steel and

autos, along with increased duties on all goods from China that

have rattled markets as fears grow a full-blown trade war could

trigger a sharp global economic slowdown.

In Europe, activity across the broader markets was muted,

with stocks pointing slightly lower, while currencies and bond

yields held steady.

The STOXX 600 European benchmark, many of whose

components are highly vulnerable to a hit from U.S. tariffs,

traded down 0.9% on the day, led by declines in the heavyweight

pharmaceutical sector.

Various measures of volatility - often a proxy for investor

nervousness - edged up, reflecting the last-minute rush by

traders to secure short-term hedges against big price swings

across currencies, stocks and bonds.

"Whatever's announced today, I doubt very much will be the

framework that's in place in say nine months' time because we

know there'll be negotiations around this," Daiwa Capital

economist Chris Scicluna said.

"It's very difficult to predict with any confidence what the

ultimate impact is going to be, whether broadly, economically,

in terms of rates or in terms of stock markets," he said.

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq

ended higher after losing ground earlier in the session.

The Dow finished a shade lower.

Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were down

0.3-0.4%.

"Investors are hoping for some clarity, and perhaps the

start of the deal-making phase. But tariffs are already weighing

on business sentiment, and this will probably feed through into

lower global economic activity in the coming months," said Ben

Bennett, Asia-Pacific investment strategist at Legal & General

Investment Management.

SOFT DATA

Beyond the tariff news, investors are increasingly worried

by signs of rising prices, slowing growth and cracks in the

labour market.

Data showed U.S. manufacturing contracted in March after

growing for two straight months, while a measure of inflation at

the factory gate jumped to the highest level in nearly three

years amid rising anxiety over tariffs on imported goods.

A report from the Labour Department also showed on Tuesday

U.S. job openings fell in February by 194,000 to 7.568 million

as uncertainty surrounding tariffs squelched labour demand.

The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note

was up 1 basis point at 4.168% having slid to

4.133% on Tuesday, its lowest level since March 4.

The currency markets remained muted. The euro was

steady at $1.0797, while sterling changed hands at

$1.2916. The yen held at 149.55 per dollar.

The spotlight though will remain on tariff details,

especially after a media report said Trump's aides are

considering a plan that would raise duties on products by about

20% from nearly every country, rather than targeting certain

countries or products.

"We head into Trump's moment to shine with many having

already deleveraged to run as flat or neutral a position as they

can in equity, the USD (dollar) and Treasuries," said Chris

Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.

The price of gold, viewed as a safeguard against financial

and political stress, rose 0.5% to $3,125 an ounce, just below

Tuesday's record high.

Gold has jumped 19% so far this year, adding to a 27% gain

in 2024 that was its best annual performance in over a decade.

Oil prices eased, leaving Brent futures down 0.5% to

$74.06 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures fell 0.6% to

$70.77 a barrel.

(Additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing

by Shri Navaratnam and Tomasz Janowski)