(Bloomberg) — European equity index futures are pointing to a weak start as investors parse the latest tariff announcements from US President Donald Trump and after earnings from Nvidia Corp. failed to impress.
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The Euro Stoxx 50 contract declined as much as 0.9% after Trump said that his administration would impose tariffs of 25% on the European Union. The president also said that previously announced levies on Mexico and Canada would come into force on April 2. Asian equities fell.
Trump’s comments were at times contradictory and sowed confusion as the tariffs on US neighbors were to take effect from next month. Nvidia shares fell in after-hours trading as the chipmaker delivered good-but-not-great quarterly numbers, leaving investors — who have become accustomed to blowout results — disappointed.
“It’s just a relief that nothing went wrong, but not a sustainable push higher that the market needed from Nvidia,” said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets. “With Nvidia lacking the spark that it usually brings, probably US stocks will continue to lack a near-term driver and the rotation trade to China, Europe could find more runway.”
Nvidia’s results are “not enough to address and calm” the concerns around geopolitics, tariffs and the shifting landscape in AI trade, she said.
New research suggests Trump’s latest tariffs on imports from China may hit the American economy more than official US trade data indicate.
“The somewhat contradictory statements from the administration around the timing and extent of tariffs is keeping investors off-sides,” said Marvin Loh at State Street. “The debate continues as to whether the president will again delay and water down his plans, or if this is the start of the aggressive rhetoric.”
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A gauge of the dollar and US stock futures rose. Treasuries slipped. They had rallied on Wednesday, sending the US 10-year yield to its lowest level since the middle of December. Investors in US government bonds are starting to bet the Federal Reserve will soon need to pivot from worrying about sticky inflation to fretting about slowing economic growth.
Traders this week resumed fully pricing in two quarter-point cuts by the Fed this year, and most of a third one next year, to a level of about 3.65%. Strategists at Morgan Stanley say if the market prices in a drop to 3.25%, the 10-year can breach 4%. The bank expects inflation data to be released Friday — the price index for January personal consumption expenditures, or PCE — to show a decline in the pace of price growth that could be decisive.
In Asia, the yen traded around 149 per dollar after ending Wednesday’s session little changed. Japan’s top currency official on Wednesday indicated he had no issue with growing market expectations over Bank of Japan interest-rate hikes, which this week helped send the yen to a four-month high.
In corporate news, Nissan Motor Co.’s bonds and shares reacted positively to a potential change in leadership. Toyota Motor Corp.’s year is off to a slow but promising start after stagnant sales abroad were offset by a rebound in Japan.
Hong Kong’s stock exchange reported its highest quarterly profit in nearly four years after China’s stimulus measures boosted trading and listing volume.
Nvidia’s Warning
Nvidia also warned that gross profit margins would be tighter than anticipated as it rushes to roll out a new chip design called Blackwell. And there’s the risk of US tariffs weighing on results.
The mixed outlook comes at a shaky time for the AI industry. Nvidia shares have dipped this year on concerns that data center operators will slow spending. Chinese startup DeepSeek also has sparked fears that chatbots can be developed on the cheap, potentially reducing the need for Nvidia’s powerful chips for AI.
“Before the launch of DeepSeek, the expectation was that China’s AI was sort of well behind US AI,” said Edward Chan, senior investment analyst at Mirae Asset Global Investments. “The key implication is that China software companies, internet companies, all these tech companies now have access to a very competitive model, where they could start build out their tech stack and build out all kinds of applications. So I think that’s really a big change for the whole China tech industry.”
Separately, world’s top commodity traders are rushing to ship copper to the US from as far afield as Asia as Trump’s threat of import tariffs on the metal creates a huge opportunity for profit.
Bitcoin advanced to $86,000 after falling below $84,000 overnight. Oil steadied near the lowest…
Read More: Stocks Decline After Nvidia, European Futures Drop: Markets Wrap