SINGAPORE/LONDON, April 11 (Reuters) – Global stocks fell on Friday and the dollar slid after a brutal week marked by the eruption of an all-out trade war and a bond market selloff that has ignited fears of recession and shaken confidence in U.S. assets.
The dollar slid to its lowest in 10 years against the Swiss franc and a six-month low against the yen as investors sought other safe haven assets. The euro surged 1.7% to $1.13855, a level last seen in February 2022 and gold, seen as a safe asset during times of crisis, hit another record high.
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Investors are grappling with worries over the escalating Sino-U.S. trade war after U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheted up tariffs on Chinese imports, raising them effectively to 145%.
China has hit back, hiking its tariffs on the U.S. with each Trump increase, raising fears that Beijing may jack up duties above the current 84%.
The selloff in U.S. Treasuries picked up pace during Asian hours, with the 10-year note yield rising to 4.45%, gaining about 45 basis points in the week, the biggest increase since 2001, LSEG data showed.
“There’s clearly an exodus from U.S. assets. A falling currency and bond market is never a good sign,” said Kyle Rodda, senior financial markets analyst at Capital.com. “This goes beyond pricing in a growth slowdown and trade uncertainty.”
In Europe, stocks pared early gains, leaving the STOXX 600 (.STOXX)
, opens new tab down nearly 1% on the day and set for a 1.7% drop this week, one of its most volatile on record.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei (.N225)
, opens new tab tumbled 4.3% on the day, while stocks in South Korea (.KS11)
, opens new tab fell nearly 1%.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to assuage sceptics by telling a cabinet meeting on Thursday that more than 75 countries wanted to start trade negotiations. Trump himself expressed hope of a deal with China, the world’s No.2 economy.
But James Athey, fixed income manager at Marlborough, said the outlook remains clouded in more uncertainty than it did a month ago. “There are still so many unanswered and unanswerable questions.”
U.S. futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were mostly flat on the day, but trading was highly erratic, with both having traded down as much as 2% earlier before rallying as much as 1.6%.
The anxiety about tariffs has sparked a renewed rush into safe havens, after a brief but massive relief rally following Trump’s move on Wednesday to temporarily lower tariffs on many countries.
“The short-term outlook for global risk assets remains uncertain given growth and inflation concerns, fluid sentiments and fast-changing developments on the trade and tariff fronts,” said Vasu Menon, managing director of investment strategy at OCBC Bank in Singapore.
RECESSION FEARS
A violent U.S. Treasury selloff this week, evoking the COVID-era “dash for cash”, has reignited fears of fragility in the world’s biggest bond market.
Thirty-year bond yields rose to 4.90%, on course for their biggest weekly jump since at least 1982, LSEG data showed.
“What we are seeing in U.S. bond markets is not currently about inflation concerns,” said Michael Krautzberger, Global CIO Fixed Income at Allianz Global Investors.
Krautzberger said the price action in Treasuries could be reflecting investor fears that a sharp growth slowdown, or recession, “makes an already unsustainable U.S. fiscal outlook even worse.”
“On the other hand, we could just be witnessing a rebalancing among institutional investors or a deleveraging from levered funds.”
In commodities, gold hit another record high, rising 1.1% to $3,210 an ounce.
Oil prices rose on Friday, but still headed for a second straight week in the red on concerns about a prolonged trade war between the United States and China. Brent crude futures were last up 1% at $63.97 a barrel.
Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Susan Fenton
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