[HONG KONG] Stocks and the dollar tumbled while gold hit a fresh record high as panic gripped markets again on Friday after Donald Trump admitted that his global tariff blitz could see “a transition cost”.
The US president’s decision to delay crippling duties for 90 days sparked a frenzied scramble for equities that had been beaten down since his “Liberation Day” announcement unleashed a global panic.
However, the realisation that nothing had been resolved, coupled with Trump’s decision to double down on his battle with economic superpower China, fuelled another bout of selling.
After blockbuster rallies on Thursday in response to the 90-day tariff pause, markets across the region were back deep in negative territory at the end of a highly volatile week.
Tokyo sank more than four per cent – a day after surging more than nine per cent – while Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Wellington, Jakarta and Manila were also in the red.
Ho Chi Minh City stocks rallied, however, after Vietnam said it would hold talks with the US president.
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Hong Kong also dropped but Shanghai fluctuated as traders focused on possible Chinese stimulus measures instead of the fact that the country was now facing duties of up to 145 per cent.
Beijing also said on Friday it would implement a moderately loose monetary policy in a bid to reassure investors.
The losses followed a similar story on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 lost 3.5 per cent, the Dow 2.5 per cent and the Nasdaq 4.3 per cent. That ate into the previous day’s gains of 9.5 per cent, 7.9 per cent and 12.2 per cent.
The selling was not limited to equities. The dollar tanked against the yen, euro, pound and Swiss franc – investors dropping what is usually considered a key safe haven currency as they look to unload US risk assets, including gold standard Treasuries.
The weaker dollar and the rush for safety has also sent gold to a fresh record high above US$3,200, while fears of a possible global recession have battered oil prices, which extended losses on Friday.
‘Ground Zero’
“There has been a pronounced ‘sell US’ vibe flowing through broad markets and into the classic safe-haven assets, with the dollar losing the safe-haven bid put in over the past week,” said Pepperstone group’s Chris Weston.
He added that the moves had “the feel of repatriation flows by foreign entities, with many re-focused on the idea that Trump’s reluctant pause on tariffs was due to increased system risk and migrating capital away from Ground Zero”.
With Treasuries being sold off, sending their yields higher and making US debt more expensive, there is a fear of a bigger calamity down the line.
Michael Krautzberger at Allianz Global Investors wrote: “A fall in the dollar could be a sign that markets are questioning its status as a global reserve currency.
“Looking forward, the big fear is that the response to the additional US tariff threats in recent days, especially on Chinese goods, is the opening salvo from the big foreign holders of US Treasuries in tariff-hit countries, as they sell their US Treasury holdings.
“A trade war morphing into a capital war would represent a significant escalation in recent tensions.”
Trump says he wants to use tariffs to reorder the world economy by forcing manufacturers to base themselves in the United States and for other countries to decrease barriers to US goods.
While he acknowledged on Thursday there would be “a transition cost and transition problems”, the Republican dismissed the global market turmoil and insisted that “in the end it’s going to be a beautiful thing”.
And commerce secretary Howard Lutnick posted on social media that “the Golden Age is coming. We are committed to protecting our interests, engaging in global negotiations and exploding our economy”.
Trump also warned that the huge tariffs delayed on Wednesday would be reintroduced if no agreements had been made between Washington and other countries.
“If we can’t make the deal we want to make… then we’d go back to where we were,” he said. AFP
