Seoul Gazette - Stocks waver as Trump raises trade risk with China

His social media post came hours after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said trade talks with China aimed at putting to bed sky-high mutual tariffs -- currently suspended -- were "a bit stalled".

The development risks renewed trade pugilism between the world's two biggest economies.

"If President Trump does slap tariffs back on Chinese imports to the US... we may see demand for US assets, and the dollar, severely impaired by a chaotic and undiplomatic approach to trade policy," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.

Investors, though, appeared largely inured to Trump's now-familiar cycle of making dramatic trade threats then retreating, with many more focused on economic data.

New York indices slid at the start of trading, but London and Frankfurt were up, while Paris dipped. Asian share markets had already closed down, before Trump's latest broadside against Beijing was published.

A key US inflation indicator released Friday showed April core price rises had slowed to 2.1 percent, milder than expected.

That could support arguments for the Federal Reserve to cut US rates -- though analysts warned that the inflationary effects of Trump's tariffs were yet to come and could cause the Fed to maintain its watch-and-wait stance.

"The true weight of these policies is likely to emerge more fully in the months ahead," cautioned FOREX.com market analyst Fawad Razaqzada.

Markets were also assessing the impact of a US court ruling that invalidated most of Trump's sweeping tariffs -- though an appeals court suspended that order and the White House said the tariffs goal would be pursued one way or another.

"The ruling didn't mean that all tariffs were off the table, it could affect trade negotiations going forward," noted David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, adding it only injected "ongoing uncertainty surrounding trade policy".

Stephen Innes, of SPI Asset Management, said the result was "a legal limbo... the kind that keeps traders awake at night".

The dollar gained against the euro and most other major currencies -- except for the yen, which strengthened after Tokyo inflation data came in above forecasts, fuelling expectations that Japan could raise interest rates in July.

Interest rates were also in focus in the eurozone, after official data showed inflation there hovering around the European Central Bank's two-percent target.

Consumer prices in top EU economy Germany showed a 2.1 percent rise in May -- the same as the previous month -- while they fell in Spain, to 1.9 percent, and in Italy, to 1.7 percent.

The ECB looks set to lower interest rates again on Thursday.

Oil prices were down on Friday, ahead of a Saturday meeting of eight key OPEC+ members to decide production quotas for July, with some analysts saying the cartel could make a larger-than-expected supply hike.

- Key figures at around 1335 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 42,092.07 points

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 5,886.39

New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 19,061.46

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 8,764.23

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,771.10

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.6 percent at 24,076.87

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.2 percent at 37,965.10 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.2 percent at 23,289.77 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 3,347.49 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1316 from $1.1368 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3458 from $1.3494

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 144.06 yen from 144.19 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.07 pence from 84.22 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.8 percent at $62.60 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent at $60.36 per barrel

I.Jang--SG