ORLANDO, Florida, March 21 (Reuters) -

TRADING DAY

Late push lifts Nasdaq to first gain in 5 weeks

Many of the world's major central banks sent a strong message

this week that the uncertainty caused by U.S. President Donald

Trump's trade wars is weighing on growth, stoking inflation, and

dramatically reducing visibility on the interest rate outlook.

It's a highly unpredictable and nervy environment for

investors to navigate, as reflected by the lack of clear

direction across world markets this week.

The MSCI World equity index snapped a four-week losing

streak for a rise of 0.7%, the S&P 500 rose 0.5%, the Nasdaq

eked out a gain of 0.17% - just avoiding its worst run since the

2022 bear market - while European stocks gained more than 1% for

their best week in five weeks.

U.S. high yield credit spreads tightened from the previous

week's six-month wides but gold rose, while Treasury yields

edged lower yet the dollar crept higher.

Those hoping for more clarity on the political, policy or

data fronts next week may be disappointed - trading could be

every bit as messy and lacking in direction, especially with the

end of the quarter approaching.

It's not just quarter end looming either - attention is also

turning to April 2, when President Trump is expected to announce

more tariffs, including reciprocal levies on many countries.

As policymakers made clear this week, the uncertainty is

weighing on businesses and consumers, and potentially putting a

freeze on investment, hiring and spending. Investors may decide

to put their plans on ice too.

One of the strongest investment trends this year has been

the reallocation of capital out of Wall Street to markets

overseas. U.S. stocks have underperformed the rest of the world

by around 13 percentage points.

Europe has been a particular beneficiary of these flows due

to Germany's historic fiscal policy shift that may substantially

boost German - and euro zone - growth. But how much juice is

left in that transatlantic swing and the reversal of the 'U.S.

exceptionalism' trade, at least in the near term?

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned

that the immediate outlook is gloomy thanks to the trade fog.

And stateside, Fed officials Austan Goolsbee and John Williams

on Friday drove home the stagflation warnings that the U.S.

central bank made earlier in the week.

Next week promises to be just as nervy. And foggy.

I'd love to hear from you, so please reach out to me with

comments at . You can also follow me at @ReutersJamie and

@reutersjamie.bsky.social.

[Latest Market Data segment]

This Week's Key Market Moves

* Gold rises 1%. Remarkably, this is gold's 11th

weekly

gain out of the last 12, accumulating total gains of 16%.

* The Nasdaq rises 0.5% on Friday to yield a very slender

gain on

the week, its first in five weeks. That averted its worst run

since April-May 2022 when the index was deep in bear market

territory.

* Europe's Stoxx 600 index rises 1.2%

, its biggest rise in five weeks. A final push next

week, and the index is well positioned to notch its best quarter

since 2020.

* European defense stocks slip 0.5% though, their first loss

in

six weeks and only second in 13. They're still up 20% since

Berlin's fiscal U-turn, but has the rally peaked?

* UK 10-year gilt yields rise for a third week, and on

Friday the

bonds underperform French and German debt by the widest margin

this year. Poor public finance figures are another headache for

finance minister Rachel Reeves ahead of next week's budget

update.

* Turkey's markets plunge as concerns over the

detention

of President Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival persist.

Stocks have their worst week since October 2008, the lira slumps

4%.

Charts of the Week

Not one, but two charts of the week this week.

The first highlights the scale of Wall Street's

underperformance this year, and how quickly the 'U.S.

exceptionalism' narrative has faded. Big Tech, which powered the

rally in recent years, is lagging even more.

The second shows what a quarter it has been for gold bugs.

The yellow metal is up 15%, its best quarter since 2016. If it

can stretch that out to over 16% by March 31, it will be its

best quarter since 1986.

What could move markets on Monday?

* China BYD earnings (Q4)

* Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data from Japan, Germany,

euro

zone, UK, United States (March)

Here are some of the best things I read this week:

1. The Impact of Tariffs on Inflation - Boston Fed

paper

2. American Pharmaceutical Companies Still Aren't

Paying

Tax in the U.S. - Brad Setser

3. Rescuing America's Economy from Trump - Brad

DeLong

4. Dollar stops insulating US stocks: Mike Dolan

5. EU struggles to bring Trump to the table on

tariffs

Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect

the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is

committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

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(Writing by Jamie McGeever)