Anthony Matesic works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Stock markets inched up, gold hit new record high on jitters over the latest twists in the global trade war. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
NEW YORK, United States – Stock markets rose, gold hit another record high and the dollar remained under pressure as investors grappled with the latest twists and turns in US President Donald Trump’s trade war.
Technology shares mostly rose in reaction to a late Friday announcement by the Trump administration of tariff exemptions for smartphones, laptops, semiconductors and other electronics — all key Chinese-made products.
But they later pared their gains as investors digested the other weekend news — Trump suggesting that the exemptions would be temporary.
READ: US says tech tariff exemptions may be short-lived
The broad-based S&P 500 briefly dipped into negative territory at midday but finished up 0.8 percent.
“Washington’s partial retreat from its hard-line tariff regime — specifically the temporary exemption of a raft of tech goods from punitive import levies — has momentarily eased fears of an all-out trade war,” said Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at City Index and Forex.com.
Trump said Sunday that the exemptions had been misconstrued and that no country would get “off the hook” in his trade war — especially China.
As his team pursued fresh tariffs against many items on the list, including semiconductors “over the next week,” Trump said electronics were only moved to a different tariff “bucket.”
“The comment has only added to confusion and reinforced the idea that the exemptions are not permanent, keeping uncertainty elevated as the new week begins,” said David Morrison, analyst at financial services platform Trade Nation.
“The US dollar remained under pressure, with ongoing trade tensions denting its appeal,” Morrison said.
But the US currency traded within a tighter range compared with the recent days when it has seen some big drops against the euro.
US Treasuries also recovered somewhat but yields remained fairly high following a sell-off last week that pointed to questions about the continued reliability of US government bonds as a haven investment.
Gold, a go-to asset of safety in times of turmoil, hit a new peak of $3,245.75 an ounce Monday before paring back gains.
“Unless a broader (US-China) trade accord is struck soon, the stalemate could continue to hold back risk appetite,” Razaqzada said.
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.
“While this softening of tone (on tariffs) may appear constructive on the surface, it doesn’t meaningfully shift the dial unless accompanied by substantive progress in US-China trade relations,” he said.
