Stock markets waver as traders weigh Trump tariffs, inflation

FILE – This July 15, 2013, file photo, shows a sign for Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

New York, United States — US and European stock markets wobbled Wednesday as key US inflation data showed an uptick, with traders also weighing US President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats and a political standoff in France.

Wall Street saw red with both the Dow and S&P 500 retreating from records on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday. The Nasdaq also declined.

European stock markets were also mindful of rising concerns Europe could be the next tariffs target for Trump.

READ: Asian markets mixed as traders eye fresh trade tensions

The Paris stock market ended off 0.7 percent as a French political standoff over a belt-tightening draft budget for 2025 threatens to topple the government.

Frankfurt also dipped, while London just finished in the green.

In the United States, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 2.3 percent in the 12 months to October, up from 2.1 percent in September, which was broadly in line with forecasts.

The figure was also close to the US Federal Reserve’s long-term target of two percent, keeping the central bank’s inflation fight largely on track.

Futures markets currently place the odds at about two-thirds that the Fed will cut interest rates again in December by a quarter of a percentage point.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said the figure “is a little hot” but “it is not outside the most recent range for monthly increases.”

“US traders can pack up for the Thanksgiving holiday with little to fear at this stage,” she said in a research note.

Trump, who has named a tough-negotiating hawk to be his trade envoy when he takes office in January, has announced plans to hit China, Canada and Mexico with hefty tariffs right away.

“Investors are growing increasingly concerned that Donald Trump’s next tariff target is continental Europe,” said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.

For Europe, this would create “another potential headwind on top of the existing one in the form of lackluster economic activity,” he said.

While Trump’s victory has been broadly welcomed by the financial markets, there is concern that his widely pledged rise in tariffs could be inflationary.

The Republican has announced Jamieson Greer as his trade envoy, saying that Greer — who served as chief of staff to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer during Trump’s previous administration — had played a “key role” in imposing tariffs on China at that time.

READ: Trump names lawyer Jamieson Greer his US trade envoy

Bitcoin moved back past $95,000, having hit a record Friday and come within a whisker of the $100,000 mark on hopes that Trump will move to ease restrictions on the crypto market.

After another record-breaking lead from earlier, Chinese markets rallied as data showed that China’s industrial sector narrowed losses in October.

Meanwhile, the price of Arabica coffee hit the highest level since 1977 on concerns of limited supplies caused by drought in Brazil this year.

Key figures around 2145 GMT 

New York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 44,722.06 (close)

New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 5,998.74 (close)

New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.6 percent at 19,060.48

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,274.75 (close)

Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.7 percent at 7,143.03 (close)

Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.2 percent at 19,261.70 (close)

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.8 percent at 38,134.97 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.3 percent at 19,603.13 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.5 percent at 3,309.78 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0565 from $1.0489 on Tuesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2678 from $1.2569

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 151.17 yen from 153.08 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.33 pence from 83.44 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $72.83 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $68.72 per barrel