ORLANDO, Florida, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Wall Street slumped on Tuesday on concerns that tech companies could face steeper competition and lower margins as a result of AI, while precious metals rebounded sharply on renewed U.S.-Iran tensions.
More on that below. In my column today I look at how President Donald Trump is shifting his interest rate focus to getting long-term U.S. yields down. The trouble is, the Fed has little control over that, no matter what it does with the policy rate.
If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets today.
Today’s Key Market Moves
Today’s Talking Points
* (Big) swings and roundabouts
The wild price ride across a range of markets continued apace on Tuesday. Precious metals rebounded from Friday’s historic losses with historic gains, as did South Korean equities, while India’s rupee had its best day in six years.
It’s a testing time for investors, and not just traders with a typically short-term horizon. Price moves and volatility on this scale can cause serious portfolio damage. And compounding the difficulty is finding a reliable hedge – traditional safe harbors like Treasuries, the dollar and gold are not without risk either.
* RBA canary in the coal mine?
The Reserve Bank of Australia isn’t the first G10 central bank to reverse course and raise interest rates. It follows the Bank of Japan, which is grappling with its own unique set of economic, political, FX and bond market issues.
But the RBA’s move is potentially significant. It raised rates because inflation is drifting further above the bank’s 2-3% target range. Could the U.S. Fed be forced to do likewise later this year? After all, inflation has been above target for five years and is showing little sign of cooling.
* U.S.-Iran tensions fire up again
Just as it seemed like U.S.-Iran relations might be thawing, investors on Tuesday were grappling with news that the U.S. military shot down an Iranian drone in the Arabian Sea, and armed boats approached a U.S.-flagged vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
Nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran are scheduled for Friday, but developments today suggest they will be fraught. Indeed, they might not take place at all, with Iran demanding that the venue and scope of negotiations be changed. Some level of geopolitical risk premium should still be in market pricing.
What could move markets tomorrow?
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(By Jamie McGeever; Editing by Nia Williams)
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