NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks were volatile again Friday as President Donald Trump blasted Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell for not dropping interest rates and said his 'termination' could not come soon enough. Trump's tantrum rattled investors already trying to come to grips with the huge impact the president's trade tariffs are having.
"This is a market that is waiting and looking for direction," Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management told CNBC Thursday. "Right now, it's more about waiting to see what happens with those trade deals."
In the U.S., the Standard and Poor's 500 edged up by 7.00 points to close at 5,282.70, marking a gain of 0.13 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell significantly by 527.16 points, ending at 39,142.23, a decrease of 1.33 percent. The Nasdaq Composite experienced a modest decline, dropping 20.71 points to 16,286.45, down 0.13 percent. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), a measure of market volatility, decreased by 3.02 points to 29.62, a drop of 9.20 percent.
Global Markets Mixed Amid Tariff Uncertainty and Economic Data
Global equity markets presented a mixed picture on Thursday, the last day of the trading week as investors prepared to shut down for the Easter break,
Investors and traders grappled with ongoing trade tensions and economic indicators. While some indices posted gains, others faced declines, reflecting the prevailing uncertainty in global markets.
UK
The FTSE 100 in London remained virtually unchanged, closing at 8,275.66 with a negligible increase of 0.00 percent.
Europe
European markets showed varied performance. Germany's DAX declined by 105.16 points to 21,205.86, down 0.49 percent, while France's CAC 40 dropped 44.11 points to 7,285.86, a decrease of 0.60 percent. The EURO STOXX 50 Index fell by 31.16 points to 4,935.34, down 0.63 percent. The Euronext 100 Index decreased by 6.93 points to 1,456.90, a decline of 0.47 percent. Belgium's BEL 20 saw a slight drop of 3.33 points to 4,197.65, down 0.08 percent.
Asia-Pacific
Asian markets mostly advanced. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 338.16 points to 21,395.14, an increase of 1.61 percent. Singapore's STI Index gained 57.88 points to 3,720.33, up 1.58 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 60.20 points to 7,819.10, a rise of 0.78 percent, while the All Ordinaries added 60.20 points to 8,021.90, up 0.76 percent. India's S&P BSE SENSEX surged by 1,508.91 points to 78,553.20, marking a significant gain of 1.96 percent. Indonesia's IDX Composite increased by 38.21 points to 6,438.27, up 0.60 percent. Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose by 6.35 points to 1,483.27, an increase of 0.43 percent. New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Index Gross advanced by 51.07 points to 12,118.99, up 0.42 percent. South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index gained 22.98 points to 2,470.41, a rise of 0.94 percent. Taiwan's TWSE Capitalization Weighted Stock Index fell by 129.27 points to 19,338.73, a decrease of 0.66 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 increased by 457.20 points to 34,377.60, up 1.35 percent. China's SSE Composite Index added 4.34 points to 3,280.34, a gain of 0.13 percent.
Americas
In the Americas, Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index rose by 86.02 points to 24,192.81, an increase of 0.36 percent. Brazil's IBOVESPA advanced by 1,276.88 points to 129,593.77, up 1.00 percent. Mexico's IPC MEXICO climbed 627.17 points to 53,018.57, a rise of 1.20 percent. Chile's S&P IPSA gained 104.70 points to 7,815.25, up 1.36 percent. Argentina's MERVAL experienced a significant drop of 186,975.00 points to 2,177,975.00, a decrease of 7.91 percent.
Currencies and Commodities
The U.S. Dollar Index remained unchanged at 99.38. The British Pound Currency Index increased by 0.19 points to 132.69, up 0.14 percent. The Euro Currency Index fell by 0.25 points to 113.75, a decline of 0.22 percent, after the European Central Bank slashed interest rates from 2.50 percent to 2.25 percent. The Japanese Yen Currency Index decreased by 0.31 points to 70.23, down 0.43 percent. The Australian Dollar Currency Index rose by 0.22 points to 63.92, an increase of 0.35 percent.
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