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US Markets Down Again as Tariff Concerns Persist – Nasdaq Down 4.3%

US markets took another sharp downside correction in trading yesterday as investors continued to evaluate the growing global trade war. All three of the major US indices dropped hard, the Dow off 2.50%, the S&P down 3.46% and the Nasdaq down 4.31%. The dollar crashed against all the major currencies as FX players priced in more pain for the US, the DXY down 1.95% on the day to 100.98. Treasury yields were mixed again after lower inflation data in the US, the 2-year down 4.6 basis points to 3.862%, while the 10-year gained 9.3 basis points to 4.425%. Oil prices dropped back again, Brent down 3.13% to $63.43, WTI down 3.66% to $60.07 a barrel. Gold flew higher again on haven flow, notching another all-time high, gaining 2.49% on the day to close at $3,176.64.

Gold Shines Again in Uncertain Times – Up 2.5%

Gold once again hit a fresh all-time high yesterday as the euphoria of President Trump’s tariff reprieve fell flat after just one day. Traders are now looking at more uncertainty in the market as the US President continues to change his mind on trade issues, and gold has been the recipient of large haven flows. As the dollar continues to drop in the wake of a pending US recession, gold becomes more attractive from a portfolio perspective and investors continue to look for levels to buy. The world’s favourite precious metal is now up nearly 23% since its 2025 low on the very first trading day of the year, and if the global trade war continues, it is set to move even higher. Investors now feel that only a complete turnaround from the US in terms of tariffs will enable a good correction for gold, and while the uncertainty and risks continue to pile up, they will continue to buy haven products, with gold at the top of their list.

More Data on the Calendar Today

There is more data due out today on the economic calendar, but traders are expecting geopolitical concerns to once again outweigh fundamental updates. There is nothing of note due out in the Asian session, but the focus will be firmly on the UK once Europe opens, with several data drops scheduled, the GDP data being the highlight. Expectation is for the data to show a meagre 0.1% month-on-month increase, and anything significantly off that will see more moves in the pound. Once again, we have big data coming out in the US shortly after the New York open, with PPI numbers set to be released. The core number is expected to show a 0.3% increase, while the headline figure is expected to be slightly lower at 0.2%. Later in the day, we also have University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment and Inflation Expectations data, and the week will be closed out with speeches from Fed members Musalem and Williams.

The post General Market Analysis – 11/04/25 first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.

This readout via the People’s Bank of China:

• China’s Xuan Changneng, Deputy Governor of the PBoC, attended the ASEAN+3 Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

• He chaired discussions as China’s co-chair of the 10+3 Finance and Financial Cooperation Mechanism.

• Key topics included:

  • Impact of US tariffs on global and regional macroeconomics.

  • Strengthening the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM).

  • Enhancing the role of the 10+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO).

  • Deepening regional policy coordination and improving the regional financial safety net.

• The meeting adopted legal arrangements for RMB investment under the CMIM.

• China, Japan, and South Korea also held a separate trilateral meeting to discuss economic and financial cooperation.

• Xuan reaffirmed China’s commitment to a moderately loose monetary policy to support market stability and economic recovery.

• He held bilateral talks with senior officials from South Korea and Singapore to discuss global uncertainty and its national impacts.

Bolding above is mine.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.

Way back in March I posted on the question of Trump ending Fed independence:

• Is Trump building the foundations to fire Fed Chair Powell and other Fed members?
• “A political Federal Reserve risks weakening the US dollar’s reserve status”

Earlier in the session here (late US afternoon) this issue raised its ugly head again, check this link (scroll down a bit):

• Markets are now incorporating the risk to Fed independence into their tariff worries.

Alternatively, here is the screenshot with the info:

The response in markets has been what you would expect from threats to Fed independence:

• EUR, JPY, CHF all higher
• US bonds trashed
• US equities trashed

In the FX space, all of those three currencies I have listed in the first point are all viable reserve currencies. JPY and CHF are often seen as ‘safe haven’ alternatives, but you can add in EUR given the size of European financial markets (as long as they are;t playing up at the à la the various debt crises that descend on the ‘southern’ members from time to time.

For those not keen on swapping one fiat for another, gold is an alternative, its soared also.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.

Under a new agreement obtained by AFP, U.S. troops will be allowed to operate from several Panama-controlled sites along the Panama Canal.

The deal, signed by senior officials from both countries, permits deployments for training, joint exercises, and other activities — but does not authorize the U.S. to build its own military bases, which would be politically sensitive and legally complicated in Panama.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.

EUR/USD 1.1350

USD/JPY 142.99

USD/CHF 0.8154

Gold 3206)

Ugly times for the US dollar, the idealogues are destroying it.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.

Yen, EUR, GBP, CHF are all soaring against the hapless US dollar.

Gold too, I shouldn’t leave it out.

As I said earlier, there are no fresh catalysts apart from what has already been posted.

Also as I said earlier:

• Markets are now incorporating the risk to Fed independence into their tariff worries.

The US dollar index, DXY, traded under 100 for the first time since July 2023.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.

Pressure on the US dollar is continuing.

EUR, JPY, CHF, GBP, gold all strong during Asia morning trade.

USD/JPY notable, its dropped under 143.50.

There is no fresh news nor catalyst apart from what has already been posted.

Markets are now incorporating the risk to Fed independence into their tariff worries.

USD/JPY update:

EUR, JPY, CHF are all fiat alternatives, to some extent, to the USD as a reserve currency.

If you don;t like fiat, there’s gold, that’s supported also.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.

Back in January I posted on a two-pronged reason for a lower USD:

• steep up trend line for the USD appears to have been broken
• first year of Trump’s Presidency #1 was a downtrend for the USD

Here’s a link:

• The steep up trend line for the USD appears to have been broken

I drew a maybe support line now, just under the current rate. Comments welcome!

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.

Japanese finance minister Kato speaking as USD/JPY continues to plunge:

• forex rates should be set by markets
• excess FX volatility negatively impacts the economy
• have agreed with the US to continue closely communicating on Forex at a minister level
• will continue to exchange views with G7 countries

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.

Investors are liking other fiat vs. USD.

• EUR (just hit its highest since July 2023), GBP, CHF, yen all rising.

Gold surging too, its around 3185 as I post.

I posted back in March on Trump efforts that may be directed at removing the independence of the Federal Reserve:

• Is Trump building the foundations to fire Fed Chair Powell and other Fed members?
• “A political Federal Reserve risks weakening the US dollar’s reserve status”

And I updated this a little earlier today:

• More from Fed’s Collins: Financial markets are performing well and remain liquid

To repeat what I posted earlier, this from various social media sources:

Trump’s economic policies are diminishing growth prospects and raising inflation. His other idealogical-driven policies are risking central bank independence.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.

I posted earlier on:

• EU Commissioner President Von De Leyen says could tax big tech if Trump trade talks fail

Buried in that report is this exchange regarding the potential for China to increase exports to the UE, von de Leyrn concerned about this:

• von der Leyen said the EU “will not tolerate” Chinese goods hit by US tariffs being redirected to Europe
• made this point to Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang in a call this week, and that he had replied that “this risk does not exist because they would stimulate the consumption in China”

***

Economic recovery in China would be a welcome development.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.

If you think tariff tantrums are over, think again – Trump with more threats:

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.