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Europe proposes retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel, other goods
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Dollar, Treasuries flat as S&P futures point to more gains
European stocks followed Asian peers higher as investors weighed the chances of a global trade war. The dollar fluctuated and Treasuries were steady.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose for a second day, tracking advances across Asia as benchmarks from Hong Kong to Seoul clawed back losses incurred since U.S. President Donald Trump laid out a series of import tariffs on Thursday. German bund yields and the euro were steady as the European Commission proposed retaliatory measures on imports of U.S. steel, apparel, textile and footwear, and selected industrial goods. Ten-year Treasury yields hovered around 2.88 percent. West Texas crude was little changed.
“People are realizing a large trade war does not have consensus support, and decent leads last night in the U.S. are driving global risk assets higher,” said Joshua Crabb, the head of equities at Old Mutual Global Investors in Hong Kong.
Trump’s announcement Thursday that he intends to implement tough tariffs on steel and aluminum imports has been followed by calls by House Speaker Paul Ryan to reconsider. White House economic adviser Gary Cohn is summoning executives from U.S. companies that depend on the metal imports to meet this week with Trump in a last-ditch effort to halt the order, people familiar with the matter say.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar pared gains even as export data beat forecasts and the central bank gave an upbeat assessment of the economy, leaving interest ratesunchanged and giving no indication an increase is coming soon.
Terminal users can read more in our markets blog.
Here are some key events coming up this week:
- The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference runs through March 15 and overlaps with the National People’s Congress meetings in Beijing, through March 20.
- Australia GDP data is due Wednesday.
- The ECB isn’t expected to change policy on Thursday, but the Governing Council may discuss a change to pave the way for the end of quantitative easing.
- BOJ monetary policy decision and briefing on Friday.
- U.S. monthly payrolls data come Friday.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 1 percent as of 8:01 a.m. London time.
- Futures on the S&P 500 Index rose 0.3 percent.
- The MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 1.3 percent.
- The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index gained 0.7 percent.
- The MSCI Emerging Market Index climbed 1.4 percent.
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose less than 0.05 percent.
- The euro fell less than 0.05 percent to $1.2331.
- The British pound dipped 0.2 percent to $1.3819.
- The Japanese yen increased less than 0.05 percent to 106.15 per dollar.
- South Africa’s rand declined 0.1 percent to 11.8375 per dollar.
- The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index rose 0.1 percent.
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased one basis point to 2.88 percent.
- Germany’s 10-year yield rose less than one basis point to 0.65 percent.
- Britain’s 10-year yield gained two basis points to 1.495 percent.
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.1 percent to $62.61 a barrel.
- Gold rose less than 0.05 percent to $1,320.78 an ounce.
By Adam Haigh and Samuel Potter
Source: Bloomberg