(Updates to U.S. market close)
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US stocks dip after tariff plans confirmed
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US dollar gains versus euro, yen, Canadian dollar
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10-year Treasury yields jump
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Oil prices ease after choppy trading
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Safe haven gold hits record
By Lawrence Delevingne and Harry Robertson
BOSTON/LONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks
slipped and the dollar gained on Friday after President Donald
Trump announced tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, capping a
volatile week for markets.
The U.S. will impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, along
with 10% on China, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said
on Friday, but she declined to say whether there will be
exemptions. Reuters earlier quoted sources saying that Trump
would delay collection of the duties until March 1 and offer a
limited process for certain imports to be exempted.
Wall Street shares reversed on Friday to
finish in negative territory
. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.75%,
the U.S. S&P 500 stock index lost 0.5%, and the
tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.3%.
"As was the case for Monday's AI news, it remains to be seen
how the markets will absorb this development on a longer-term
basis," Daniel Skelly, head of Morgan Stanley's Wealth
Management Market Research & Strategy Team, said in an email.
"This week has been a reminder of how unexpected events can
quickly shift market perceptions."
The Nasdaq had lost 2.9% on Monday as the surging popularity of
cheap Chinese AI model DeepSeek shook investor confidence in
U.S. tech stocks and sent chipmaker Nvidia ( NVDA ) plunging
17%. But earnings reports and forecasts this week from Meta
and Tesla helped sentiment recover somewhat.
Apple ( AAPL ) initially added to the cautiously optimistic mood
late on Thursday when it forecast relatively strong sales
growth, but its stock fell about 0.7% Friday.
European shares closed at a record high, led by technology
stocks, as earnings from companies such as Novartis and
Hexagon overshadowed concerns over economic recovery.
TARIFFS LOOM
In currency markets, the dollar index, which measures the
greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and
the euro, rose 0.25%
The Canadian dollar lost 0.26% and the peso was 0.24% higher
in choppy trading .
Trump is threatening punitive duties if Canada and Mexico do not
take stronger action to halt the flow of the deadly opioid
fentanyl and precursor chemicals into the U.S., as well as
illegal migration. Goldman Sachs economists have estimated that
across-the-board tariffs on Canada and Mexico would imply a 0.7%
increase in core inflation and a 0.4% hit to gross domestic
product.
"There is big market complacency in terms of the manner that the
market could digest the tariffs," Michael Nizard, multi-asset
chief investment officer at Edmond de Rothschild, said earlier
on Friday.
The euro and sterling both declined about 0.1% versus the dollar
.
Data on Friday showed the U.S. personal consumption
expenditures price index rose 0.3% last month after an unrevised
0.1% gain in November, in line with economists' expectations.
"Disinflation continues, and should continue given
underlying trends," David Alcaly, lead macroeconomic strategist
at Lazard Asset Management, said in an email.
"Concerns about recent bumpiness are overblown and have more
to do with the potential for inflationary policy change like
tariffs than with current conditions."
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields jumped following the Trump
tariff plans and were last up 3.7 basis points to 4.549%
.
Data on Thursday showed U.S. economic growth slowed in the
fourth quarter, but remained robust enough for investors to
expect the Federal Reserve - which held interest rates on
Wednesday - to lower borrowing costs only gradually this year.
Euro zone short-dated government bond yields were on track to
record their biggest weekly drop in months, after a raft of weak
economic data led traders to ramp up their bets on future rate
cuts from the European Central Bank. The ECB cut rates on
Thursday and signaled more easing was coming.
Oil prices
eased on Frida
y and closed the week lower. Brent crude futures
for March, which expire on Friday, settled down 11 cents at
$76.76 a barrel.
Gold prices surpassed the key $2,800 mark for the first time
on Friday, fuelled by a rush to safety.