Stocks drop, gold hits record as tariffs stoke recession worries

Trump's comments to reporters on Air Force One seemed to dash hopes the levies would be limited to a smaller group of countries with the biggest trade imbalances.
Trump is due to receive tariff recommendations on Tuesday and announce initial levels on Wednesday, followed by auto tariffs the day after.
On
"What the Trump administration has shown us so far is that you should not expect a consistent approach," said
"This is what scares the market the most. Inconsistency breeds uncertainty, and markets hate uncertainty."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.00% to 42,001.76, the S&P 500 rose 0.55% to 5,611.85 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.14% to 17,299.29.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs now see a 35% chance of a U.S. recession, up from 20% previously, saying they expect Trump to announce tariffs that average 15% across all U.S. trading partners on
Data out on Friday underlined the risks as a key measure of core inflation rose by more than expected in February, while consumer spending disappointed.
That raised the stakes for the March payrolls report due on Friday, where any outcome below the 140,000 gain expected would only add to recession fears.
"The current market narratives center on this fear of stagflation, which conceptually could be the worst possible combination for stocks," said
"So in a slowing growth environment, earnings would decelerate, or even collapse in a recession. That's another big fear in the market. And on the other side, spiralling inflation would squeeze stocks on the valuation channel."
Gold prices extended their stellar run, hitting another record high of
In currency markets, the dollar pared early losses to strengthen against the Japanese yen and the euro amid the uncertainty around tariffs.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.07% to 149.93. The euro was down 0.11% at
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, including the yen and the euro, rose 0.17%.
Bond investors seemed to be betting the slowdown in U.S. economic growth will outweigh a temporary lift in inflation and prompt the Fed to cut rates by about 80 basis points this year.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 3.5 basis points to 4.221%. In
The outlook for rates could become clearer when Fed Chair
Brent rose 1.5% to settle at
(Reporting by
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