Markets
- Gold up $16 to $2876
- US 10-year yields flat at 4.48%
- WTI crude oil up 40-cents to $71.40
- S&P 500 futures up 17 points
- Nikkei 225 up 0.1%
- USD leads, CAD lags
For a moment there, I thought we might have a quiet start to the week for the first time in awhile.
Of course, tariff man invited the press corps onto Air Force One and held and impromptu press conference where he announced steel/aluminum tariffs on everyone and said reciprocal tariffs were coming on Tues or Wed.
That kicked off the usual USD rally but so far it’s been less that you might expect. The euro is down just 15 pips on the day while AUD/USD recovered completely from a 40-pip decline.
There is little doubt the metals tariffs are coming but the market is skeptical about the rest. Trump made a handful of other comments that will reverberate as well, including some cryptic comments about Treasury debt that may not exist.
China floated some fresh tariffs in the WSJ but that had little effect as Chinese stocks continued to climb. Gold also found a nice bid to start the week as it finally gets some mainstream attention.
US S&P 500 futures opened 30 points lower but the buyers arrived almost immediately, bidding it back to flat and then up 16 points. Again, that’s a sign that the market doesn’t think Trump is serious about tariffs or that he doesn’t have the authority.
There was plenty of distraction to start the week as the Superbowl unfolded in the US. The game was a dud with Philadelphia cruising to a win and a lackluster half-time show.