European stocks dipped Monday, but Wall Street rallied as investors weighed fresh U.S. tariffs expected next week against hopes that President Donald Trump might take a more targeted approach.
Markets have been on edge in recent weeks, fearing Trump’s aggressive trade policies could rattle the global economy. Attention now turns to next Wednesday – dubbed “Liberation Day” by Trump – when he is set to unveil a series of “reciprocal” tariff measures.
Despite the uncertainty, U.S. markets opened strong and kept their momentum. By mid-session, the Nasdaq climbed 2%, the S&P 500 rose 1.7%, and the Dow added 1.3%.
“U.S. stock index futures were firmer this morning, indicating a return of investor risk appetite,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.
“The positive start was helped by a more conciliatory tone from President Trump concerning existing tariffs and those threatened in the future,” he added.
Bloomberg News reported that the U.S. administration was considering a more targeted approach to the tariffs, with some countries being hit harder than others and the measures not as severe as initially feared.
That came after the president told reporters Friday that “there’ll be flexibility” in his plans.
Those expectations helped European markets open buoyantly Monday. But that sentiment dissipated by the afternoon, with London, Paris and Frankfurt all losing ground, albeit modestly.
“It’s going to be another choppy week for markets with tariffs once again dominating risk appetite,” said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.
Markets also digested purchasing managers’ index data showing business activity in the eurozone increased for the third consecutive month in March.
The closely watched survey also showed U.K. business activity hit a six-month high, a glimmer of good news for Britain’s struggling economy.
However, positive sentiment has been tempered as the U.S. Federal Reserve last week warned of “uncertainty around the economic outlook.”
Asian markets fluctuated through the day, with Tokyo falling while Hong Kong and Shanghai rose.
Chinese electric carmaker BYD’s shares rebounded 3% on news that the company made more than $100 billion in 2024.
Its price had dropped more than 8% on Friday following a report that the European Commission was conducting a foreign subsidy investigation into its plant in Hungary.
Jakarta dived more than 4% at one point, extending a recent sell-off fueled by worries about Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, which has seen the country’s main index lose around 15% since the start of the year.
Gold slid back slightly to around $3,010 an ounce, having hit a series of records last week, peaking above $3,057 amid surging demand for safe havens.
Prices may start heading the other way, though, according to Fawad Razaqzada, a market analyst at StoneX.
“Moving forward, the gold forecast may not be as strong as the first months of the year,” he said. “We think that the pace of buying could at least slow, if not reverse.”
New York
Dow: UP 1.3% at 42,510.24 points
S&P 500: UP 1.6% at 5,757.84
Nasdaq: UP 2.0% at 18,137.31
Europe
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1% at 8,638.01
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.3% at 8,021.98
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.2% at 22,856.01
Asia
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2% at 37,608.49 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9% at 23,905.56 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2% at 3,370.03 (close)
Currencies
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0824 from $1.0815 on Friday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2903 from $1.2918
Dollar/yen: UP at 150.58 yen from 149.36 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.62 pence from 83.72 pence
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9% at $69.20 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.9% at $73.06 per barrel
