The investors in United States turned cautious on Friday as the Wall Street opened in red with major indices retreating from the all-time high levels.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 200 points, down 0.5%. The S&P 500 declined 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite edged lower by 0.3%.
The developments came as US President Donald Trump announced a whopping 35% tariffs on Canada.
In a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump pointed to concerns over fentanyl as one of the driving reasons behind the move.
That said, products that meet the standards set under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement won’t be affected, for now.
The move is likely to ratchet up trade tensions and hit several industries hard.
But beyond the immediate economic impact, it also sends a clear message: Trump is prepared to use tariffs as a tool to push his political agenda even when the issues at hand have little to do with trade.
Uncertainty weighs on market sentiment
Global markets are slipping as investors weigh the impact of fresh tariff threats and brace for more news on trade and interest rate policy.
US stock futures were in the red, pulling back after Wall Street hit record highs just a day earlier, a sign of the lingering uncertainty.
Oil prices are swinging wildly, caught between OPEC+ supply shifts and the ripple effects of the tariffs.
Meanwhile, industrial metals like copper and nickel are climbing, driven by tightening supplies and reports of theft disrupting shipments.
Progress in US-China relations?
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat down with China’s foreign minister in Malaysia this week, their first face-to-face meeting amid ongoing trade tensions.
Following the negotiations, there was some hope in the possibility of a breakthrough in the poor US-China relationship with Rubio hinting that possibly a summit between President Trump and President Xi could be in the offing.
Though there were no significant promises made during the meeting, it became clear that both parties are at least willing to discuss the matter and it is already a start.
Even though the US and China are still in a deadlock of a high stakes battle of global power, economies and security, news that a Trump-Xi summit could occur has given optimistic jitters.
Crypto momentum
Bitcoin’s breakout above $118,000 has sent shockwaves through the crypto market, fueled by a surge in institutional interest and encouraging signals from US policymakers.
Fueling that new high is the massive flows into spot Bitcoin ETFs of over $1.18 billion of inflows on a single day, an indication of how quickly conservative finance is taking cold to cryptos.
BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust has already amassed more than 700,000 BTC, and this fact speaks volumes about the extent to which institutional practitioners are entering the crypto market.
The crypto-friendly position of the Trump administration, such as a strategic reserve of Bitcoin, has boosted investor confidence as well.
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