US equity futures are higher, attempting to pare back some of the sharp losses from Monday's prior session and extending yesterday’s late day buying where the S&P found support at the 5,100 level; according to JPM, there is some optimism around a trade deal with either Japan or India and a deal is a likely milestone for stocks to finally bottom. As of 8:00am ET, S&P and Nasdaq futures are are up 0.8%, off session highs of 1.3%, with Mag 7 and Semis all higher with TSLA earnings after the close. This week 25% of the S&P reports with implied vols among the highest since peak-COVID. Chinese tech names are reportedly considering US listings despite "market ructions", via Bloomberg citing sources; Walnut Coding, CloudSky, Zaihui & Zhonghe said to be considering IPOs in the US. The yield curve is twisting flatter and USD seeing a bid following 4 days of losses. The commodity space is mostly higher led by Energy but gold remains the top story as it set a new ATH rising above $3500 before easing back. The macro data focus is on regional Fed activity indicators (Philly non-mfg and Richmond Fed at 8:30am/10:00am ET), but the more impactful data is tomorrow’s Flash PMI prints. We also get a slew of Fed speakers (see below) alongside numerous heavyweight earnings including Tesla.
In premarket trading, Magnificent 7 stocks are rising (Tesla +0.7%, Alphabet +0.7%, Nvidia +0.92%, Amazon +0.99%, Apple +0.82%, Microsoft +0.7%, Meta +0.6%). Solar stocks gain after the US set new duties as high as 3,521% on solar imports from four Southeast Asian countries (First Solar +5.8%, Sunnova Energy +1.2%, SolarEdge Technologies +3%, Array Technologies +1.9%, Enphase Energy +2.3%). 3M (MMM) climbs 3% after the company stood by its full-year financial guidance while acknowledging new risks from the unfolding trade war. Here are some other notable premarket movers:
While S&P futures have managed a rebound contracts added 0.9%, the conversation on Wall Street still focuses on the implications of any White House effort to replace Powell. Concerns that Trump may be preparing to fire Powell have added to unease for traders already grappling with the turmoil unleashed by the president’s tariff onslaught. Trump’s policies and his broadsides against the Fed have forced a reappraisal of the dollar and Treasuries as havens in times of stress, although the collapse in the dollar has been as large as when the Fed launched QE, so if Powell will not ease, Trump will get his hit to the dollar using other means.
“With increasing rhetoric from the administration admonishing the Fed to cut rates and the markets entertaining intensifying discussions about the possibility of replacing the Fed chair, we don’t expect a rush back into the market from abroad,” John Velis, a strategist at Bank of New York Mellon, said of US bonds. “The haven status of such assets is increasingly in question.”
Attention later Tuesday will shift to Tesla, which reports first-quarter earnings after the market close; its stock has dropped about 44% this year as the massive post-eleciton rally has fully unwound. Elon Musk’s role in the federal government has contributed to a global sales slump.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 index dropped as traders returned from the Easter break. Novo Nordisk A/S slumped almost 10% on concern it faces tougher competition from Eli Lilly & Co.’s experimental weight loss pill. Here are the biggest movers Tuesday:
Earlier in the session, Asian stocks were steady as traders await outcomes of US tariff negotiations with key trading partners, while fresh concerns about the independence of the Federal Reserve also kept a lid on sentiment. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index swung in a narrow range. Taiwan’s benchmark fell more than 1% while Indonesia and Singapore led gainers. Key gauges in Hong Kong climbed, while Australia’s was little changed as trading resumed following a four-day weekend. Asian stocks overall have held up well relative to big losses in New York, with market watchers increasingly discussing the waning dominance of the US exceptionalism trade.
In currencies, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index is little changed. The yen is the best performing G-10 currency, rising 0.3% against the greenback although couldn’t sustain an earlier break past 140. “Market volatility though is driving some haven flow into the yen,” said Shoki Omori, chief desk strategist at Mizuho Securities Co. in Tokyo. “Reports the BOJ sees little need to change their stance on rate hikes are also aiding sentiment in the currency, while denting the dollar.”
In rates, treasuries are mixed with underperformance seen in shorter-dated maturities, pushing US two-year yields up 3 bps to 3.79% while long-dated tenors have plied narrow ranges, flattening 2s10s curve by nearly 4bp, 5s30s by more than 2bp. German yields fall across the curve with two-year borrowing costs touching the lowest since 2022. The gilt curve steepens with 2s10s widening nearly 5bps. The Treasury auction cycle begins with $69 billion 2-year at 1pm New York time and includes $70 billion 5-year and $44 billion 7-year sales Wednesday and Thursday. WI 2-year yield near 3.78% is about 11bp richer than March auction, which stopped through by 0.3bp.
In commodities, oil prices advanced, with WTI climbing 1.4% to $64 a barrel. Bitcoin rises 1.3% and above $88,000. Spot gold earlier hit $3,500 for the first time before paring gains to around $3,460.
Looking at today's calendar, we get the April Philadelphia Fed non-manufacturing activity (8:30am) and Richmond Fed manufacturing index (10am). Fed speaker slate includes Jefferson (9am), Harker (9:30am), Kashkari (1:40pm), Barkin (2:30pm) and Kugler (6pm)
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A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newquawk
APAC stocks traded mixed with most indices rangebound despite the sell-off on Wall St where stocks and the dollar were pressured after President Trump renewed his criticism against Fed Chair Powell. ASX 200 was little changed as strength in mining stocks and gold producers were offset by losses in tech, energy and healthcare, while price action was also hampered by the absence of any key data. Nikkei 225 struggled for direction and swung between gains and losses in relatively contained parameters amid a choppy currency and slightly higher Japanese yields. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp conformed to the mixed picture with the Hong Kong benchmark marginally pressured on return from the Easter weekend, while the mainland was kept afloat amid earnings and positive EV-related updates.
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European bourses (STOXX 600 -0.6%) opened mostly and modestly lower and have traded sideways throughout the morning thus far. Sentiment in Europe today is fairly gloomy, playing catch-up to the hefty losses seen in the US on Monday (reminder: Europe was shut on account of Easter Monday). European sectors hold a negative bias, in-fitting with the risk tone. Real Estate takes the top spot, benefiting from the relatively lower yield environment (in Europe). Insurance follows closely behind, with both Helvetia and Baloise jumping around 4% after the pair announced a merger of equals to form a leading European insurance group. Healthcare has been weighed on today by significant pressure in Novo Nordisk (-8%), hit as traders digest the latest obesity-pill updates from rival Eli Lilly.
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DB's Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap
Welcome back to all those in Europe that enjoyed the long Easter weekend. While most European markets were closed on Monday, the main market theme has been renewed pressure across US assets, with the S&P 500 falling -2.36%, 30yr Treasury yields rising +10.4bps to 4.90% and the dollar falling to a new 3-year low, while gold extended its YTD gain to over +30%.
The broad sell-off was triggered by rising concerns over Fed independence as President Trump became increasingly critical of Fed Chair Powell. The White House rhetoric had initially escalated after Powell’s hawkish-leaning speech that exacerbated the market sell-off last Wednesday. But while markets digested President Trump’s initial post that “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough” last Thursday relatively well, ongoing criticism saw renewed pressure on US assets on Monday. In a post yesterday President Trump suggested it was time for “preemptive cuts”, claiming that “there is virtually No Inflation” and that the economy risks slowing unless Powell, whom President Trump referred to as “Mr. Too Late”, lowers interest rates. This post followed the National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett saying on Friday that the Trump team was studying whether he could remove Powell.
While potential risks to Fed independence had already generated headlines in recent weeks, yesterday’s market moves were the clearest sign yet of investor anxiety over the topic. Powell, whose term as Chair expires in May 2026, reiterated last week that the Fed’s independence “is a matter of law,” and that “we’re not removable except for cause.” Other Fed officials have also warned against curtailing the central bank’s independence, including Chicago Fed President Goolsbee yesterday. Note that while the Fed Chair has significant influence over the FOMC, monetary policy actions are taken by a majority vote so removing Powell could lead to increased pushback from other members against pressure on the Fed to deliver easier policy. And with the latest rise in yields being driven mostly by real rates rather than breakevens, the market reaction is arguably more about broader investor concerns that less credible US policy-making may erode the exorbitant privilege that has allowed the US to run high twin deficits than it is about the specific risk of political influence over the Fed's rates policy.
Tariffs also stayed in the headlines, with President Trump commenting yesterday that “Tariffs are going well, everybody wants to negotiate”, but with there being little definitive progress. Some positive headlines came out of US Vice President Vance’s visit to India, with the White House touting “significant progress in the negotiations”. Over in Japan, Prime Minister Ishiba said “If Japan concedes everything, we won’t be able to secure our national interest” ahead of an expected second round of talks with the US. Mexico’s President Sheinbaum said there was no agreement yet with the US, with talks ongoing ahead of a May 3 deadline for tariffs on auto parts. And earlier on Monday, China’s Ministry of Commerce warned other countries in talks with the US against “reaching a deal at the expense of China’s interests”, with no signs so far of a substantial engagement between the US and China.
This backdrop saw the S&P 500 (-2.36%) post a broad-based decline on Monday with all 24 of its industry groups lower on the day and the equal-weighted version of the index down by -2.04%. Cyclical stocks underperformed, with the Mag-7 down -3.23% led by a -5.75% decline for Tesla ahead of its earnings release this evening. And a -2.55% decline for the NASDAQ saw it move back into bear market territory, with the index down -21% from its recent peak. The VIX volatility index rose +4.17pts to 33.82 and other risk assets also struggled, with US HY credit spreads +14bps wider at 412bps.
In a pattern of bonds being an increasingly poor hedge for equities, long-term Treasuries saw a renewed sell-off. 10yr yields moved +8.6bps higher to 4.41% and 30yr yields rose +10.4bps to 4.90%, their highest since January. This rise was driven by real yields, with the 10yr real yield up +9.4bps to 2.18%. By contrast, 2yr yields fell -3.5bps to 3.765% as the amount of Fed rate cuts priced by December rose +6.1bps to 93bps. These moves translated into a sharp steepening of the yield curve, with the 2s10s and 2s30s slopes reaching their steepest levels since January 2022, shortly before the Fed started its post-Covid hiking cycle.
In FX, the dollar index (-0.96%) yesterday closed at its lowest level in over three years. The dollar index is now down -5.69% since the start of April and on course for its weakest month since 2009. The dollar lost ground against all G10 currencies on Monday, with the euro rising to 1.1515, its highest level since November 2021, while the Swiss franc (+1.08%) was the strongest performing G10 currency. The flight to perceived safe havens also saw gold (+2.92%) post its 22nd all-time high since the start of the year, extending its YTD advance to +30.46%. Overnight, gold prices edged up another +0.81% higher to $3,452/oz.
In the energy space, the risk-off mood, concerns about the US-China trade war and constructive weekend headlines on indirect US-Iran talks put new downward pressure on oil prices. Brent crude fell -2.50% to $66.26/bbl, reversing about half of its +4.94% rise last week.
Asian equity markets are struggling to gain traction this morning after yesterday’s meltdown on Wall Street. In Japan, the Nikkei (-0.35%) is slightly lower after falling by -1.30% on Monday. In China, the Hang Seng (-0.03%) and the CSI (+0.03%) are little changed, while the Shanghai Composite (+0.31%) and Korea's KOSPI (+0.15%) are seeing minor gains reversing initial losses. Outside of Asia, US equity futures are seeing a modest recovery, with those on the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ around +0.35% higher. 10yr Treasury yields (+0.5bps) are marginally higher following yesterday's sell-off, with the dollar (-0.15%) again moving lower overnight. In Europe, STOXX 50 futures are trading -0.47% lower this morning after Monday’s holiday, which follows rebounds of +3.09% for the STOXX 50 and +4.03% for the STOXX 600 last week.
Over in Asia, our strategists published an insightful report yesterday laying out the case for a stronger RMB. They see the risk-reward weighted to a move lower in USD/CNH over the summer months, with the cost-benefit analysis for China’s policy not favouring a weaponization of the RMB.
Looking forward to the rest of this week, the data highlight will be the April flash PMIs on Wednesday, with the impact of US tariffs in focus. European manufacturing PMIs have been recovering in recent months but remain in contractionary territory, while in the US the index was only slightly above 50 (50.2) last month. Investors will also be watching the PMIs for evidence of supply disruptions and price pressures from tariffs, with US manufacturing PMI price indices having risen to 2-year highs in March.
Other notable economic indicators out this week include March durable goods orders and housing market data in the US. Our US economists see durable goods orders (Thursday) growth at +1.0% MoM (+1.0% in February), pointing to a strong start to the year for capex prior to the major tariff announcements. The Fed will also release its Beige Book on Wednesday. In Europe, other sentiment releases include the Ifo survey in Germany (Thursday) as well as consumer confidence indicators in the UK (Friday), Eurozone (Tuesday) and France (Thursday).
Elsewhere, global policy-makers are gathering in Washington for the IMF/World Bank spring meetings. As part of that, the IMF will be releasing its latest economic forecasts later today, and G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will also be meeting on Wednesday and Thursday. And there will be plenty of Fedspeak, including Jefferson, Harker, Kashkari, Barkin and Kugler today.
We will also be entering the peak of the earnings season. Two of the Mag-7 will be reporting with Tesla after market close today and Alphabet on Thursday, while other tech reports include Intel, IBM and ServiceNow. Results from consumer groups including P&G and PepsiCo may get extra attention given the recent softening in US consumer sentiment, while in Europe names to watch include SAP and Dassault Systemes. See the full weekly calendar below.
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