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Margaryta Kirakosian
3 min read
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(Bloomberg) — US stock futures edged lower and gold topped a fresh record as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation metric and continued to worry about the lasting economic damage of the trade war.
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S&P 500 index contracts dropped 0.1%. Lululemon Athletica Inc. plunged 12% in premarket trading after delivering a disappointing outlook for the year. Bitcoin retreated, while gold climbed above $3,070 an ounce. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped two basis points to 4.33%.
The reading for the US core personal consumption expenditures price index is expected to rise 0.3% in February, an unchanged pace compared with the previous month, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. With the President Donald Trump threatening to unleash so-called reciprocal tariffs next week, money managers say they’re turning neutral, stepping back or de-risking their portfolios.
“Tariffs are creating a lot of fears in the market, not just the level of the tariffs but the way they are implemented as well,” Valerie Genin, head of investments at Barclays Private Bank Monaco told Bloomberg TV. “It seems like investors are just digesting now that tariffs have lose-lose implications for all parties.”
Macro Traders From New York to Hong Kong Primed for Tariff Day
It’s been a rough quarter for US equities, with the S&P 500 getting ready to close out the first three months of the year with a 3.2% loss, the worst performance since 2023.
Fed Bank of Boston President Susan Collins said tariffs will likely cause price pressures in the near term, but it was unclear how long that would last. Money markets have added to bets this week on more Federal Reserve cuts and are now split on between two and three reductions by year-end.
The tariff threat has also jolted commodity markets this week. Copper prices in London sank for a third day, sliding further below $10,000 a ton. The metal is heading for a weekly drop after Bloomberg reported the US administration aims to introduce tariffs on copper imports within weeks, instead of months as had been widely anticipated.
Meanwhile in Europe, the Stoxx 600 index slipped 0.5% on Friday. Banks are the standout winner this quarter with a 26% advance as investors are counting on more strong earnings, share buybacks and M&A to drive gains.
