European Stocks Gain; Oil Ticks Higher on Tariffs
European stocks climbed, with gains in Shell Plc lifting benchmark indexes. Oil held an advance as President Donald Trump threatened to punish any nation purchasing crude from Venezuela with a 25% tariff.
The Stoxx 600 Index added 0.4% at the open. Shell climbed 1.8% after pledging to boost investor returns by reinforcing its top position in trading of liquefied natural gas. US stock futures dipped slightly and gold traded above $3,010 an ounce.
Tariffs have been dominating the newsflow this week, with US stocks soaring on Monday on signs that trade sanctions will be narrower than feared. Trump also said that he will announce tariffs on automobile imports in the coming days — and indicated nations will receive breaks from next week’s “reciprocal” tariffs, further adding to confusion about the plan for sweeping levies to kick in on April 2.
“Investors remain cautious about the forthcoming tariff policies,” said Graham Chin, investment strategist at EBSI Private. “The lack of detailed information contributes to ongoing uncertainty, leaving many investors on the sidelines.”
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said he now sees just one interest-rate cut as likely this year, rather than two, with tariff hikes impeding progress on disinflation. “I moved to one mainly because I think we’re going to see inflation be very bumpy and not move dramatically and in a clear way to the 2% target,” he said Monday in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Atlanta.
Meanwhile, Asian markets took a hit from a retreat in Chinese technology stocks, fueled by a lack of positive surprise in earnings and Xiaomi Corp.’s jumbo share sale. A widely watched gauge of Chinese technology shares in Hong Kong slumped 3.8%. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. lost 3.5% after its chairman warned of a potential bubble forming in datacenter construction.
Brent edged above $73 a barrel after jumping 1.2% on Monday. Trump’s order on countries that buy oil from Venezuela, which he dubbed as secondary tariffs, risk disrupting flows to refiners in China, India and Spain.
Blackstone Inc. President Jon Gray warned investors against making knee-jerk decisions around Trump’s tariff moves and instead advised waiting to see how the underlying negotiations play out.
“Have a little bit of patience,” Gray told the Asia Pacific Financial and Innovation Symposium in Melbourne on Tuesday. “Watch this tariff diplomacy evolve and make your investment decisions over a longer period of time. I think the danger in a period like this is you do something short term and you lose opportunity.”
Turkey’s top economic officials will speak with foreign investors on Tuesday, the latest attempt by the government to calm markets since the detention of a key opposition figure last week triggered billions of dollars in outflows from Turkish assets.
Source: Bloomberg
