US tariffs worse than expected, risk selloff accelerates [Video]

Ipek Ozkardeskaya Swissquote Bank Ltd

Trump’s tariff announcement was worse than expected. The market reaction to the tariff announcement is strongly negative. The pricing in currency markets suggests rising retaliation bets to the US tariffs. The US dollar eased to the lowest level since Trump entered the White House, the lowest levels this year and the lowest levels since mid October. The tariff announcement sent Cable directly up above the 1.30 psychological mark. The EURUSD trades above the 1.09 level while the USDJPY tanked to 147.

Inside equities, the afterhours trading looked like a bunch of US companies announced disappointing earnings all at once. Apple – that’s still got great exposure to China – tanked more than 7% in the afterhours, Nike also fell by a similar amount, while Nvidia lost more than 5% and Tesla tanked more than 8%.

The futures are deeply in the red with the S&P500 futures pointing at almost 3% losses at the time of writing, while Nasdaq futures point at losses more than 3%. Europe opens down.

The next hours and days will be shaped by the world’s reaction - likely retaliation - and how much effort and money countries will deploy to fight back.

Author

Ipek Ozkardeskaya

Swissquote Bank Ltd

Ipek Ozkardeskaya began her financial career in 2010 in the structured products desk of the Swiss Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. She worked in HSBC Private Bank in Geneva in relation to high and ultra-high-net-worth clients.

EUR/USD holds firm near 1.1850 amid USD weakness

EUR/USD remains strongly bid around 1.1850 in European trading on Monday. The USD/JPY slide-led broad US Dollar weakness helps the pair build on Friday's recovery ahead of the Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence data for February.

GBP/USD holds medium-term bullish bias above 1.3600

The GBP/USD pair trades on a softer note around 1.3605 during the early European session on Monday. Growing expectation of the Bank of England’s interest-rate cut weighs on the Pound Sterling against the Greenback.

Gold remains supported by China's buying and USD weakness as traders eye US data

Gold struggles to capitalize on its intraday move up and remains below the $5,100 mark heading into the European session amid mixed cues. Data released over the weekend showed that the People's Bank of China extended its buying spree for a 15th month in January. Moreover, dovish US Fed expectations and concerns about the central bank's independence drag the US Dollar lower for the second straight day, providing an additional boost to the non-yielding yellow metal.

Cardano steadies as whale selling caps recovery

Cardano (ADA) steadies at $0.27 at the time of writing on Monday after slipping more than 5% in the previous week. On-chain data indicate a bearish trend, with certain whales offloading ADA. However, the technical outlook suggests bearish momentum is weakening, raising the possibility of a short-term relief rebound if buying interest picks up.

Japan's Takaichi secures historic victory in snap election

In Japan, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's coalition secured a supermajority in the lower house, winning 328 out of 465 seats following a rare winter snap election. This provides her with a strong mandate to advance her legislative agenda.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple consolidate after massive sell-off

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple prices consolidated on Monday after correcting by nearly 9%, 8%, and 10% in the previous week, respectively. BTC is hovering around $70,000, while ETH and XRP are facing rejection at key levels. Traders should be cautious: despite recent stabilization, upside recovery for these top three cryptocurrencies is capped as the broader trend remains bearish.