Morning Bid U.S.
What matters in U.S. and global markets today
By Mike Dolan, Editor-At-Large, Financial Industry and Financial Markets
In my Friday newsletters, I’ll now offer you an overview of the day’s market-moving news, a quick glimpse into some top events to watch out for next week, and a list of some stories you may have missed amid all the market ructions.
Today’s Market Minute
* Trump has suspended the 25% tariffs he had imposed thisweek on most goods from Canada and Mexico, sowing more confusionin already whipsawed markets and fanning worries about inflationand growth. * Justin Trudeau says the U.S. tariff war is going to dragon for the foreseeable future. U.S. Treasury Secretary ScottBessent says the Canadian premier is a ‘numbskull’. * Trump has signed an executive order to establish astrategic bitcoin reserve, but the crypto world isn’t wowed. * European leaders have agreed to hike their defencespending and to stand by Ukraine in a world upended by Trump’sreversal of U.S. policies. * And finally, the market will get a look at the firstmonthly non-farm payrolls report under Trump’s watch.
Wall St turns to jobs picture
On or off? Partial or universal? Higher or lower? Business and markets have no clear idea what U.S. import tariffs are going to be, a gnawing uncertainty about trade and prices that could potentially prove as corrosive as the tariffs themselves.
Attention now turns squarely to the labor market on Friday with the release of February’s U.S. payrolls report.
Markets are already on edge following Thursday’s news that planned U.S. layoffs soared last month to the highest point since the pandemic recession in 2020, even though weekly jobless claims fell unexpectedly. Meanwhile, private sector jobs in February rose only about half the amount forecast, based on the ADP report released earlier this week.
The Atlanta Federal Reserve’s real time ‘GDPNow’ model is still tracking a contraction for the economy of 2.4% for the first quarter, though the forecast did improve slightly in recent days.
While chipmaker Broadcom’s post-bell surge on its latest results helped steady U.S. stock futures early on Friday, Wall Street stocks have recorded another rough week.
Heavy losses on Thursday saw the S&P 500 clock its biggest daily loss of the year so far, as it hit its lowest point since before U.S. President Donald Trump’s was re-elected on November 5. And for chart-watchers, the index fell below its closely-watched 200 day moving average.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq is now in what’s known as correction territory, having recoiled more than 10% from its December record high. Bitcoin fell back again, with traders disappointed by Trump’s latest plans for a crypto reserve.
