Mexican peso, Canadian dollar slide on threat of 25% tariffs
Bitcoin loses ground, gold up slightly
Oil prices settle down after Israel-Lebanon ceasefire deal
Updated prices in late afternOon ET
By Sinéad Carew and Amanda Cooper
NEW YORK/LONDON, Nov 26 (Reuters) - The U.S dollar rose against some currencies after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump pledged to impose new tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China, while MSCI's global equity index was higher after the release of the Federal Reserve's latest meeting minutes.
The minutes from the meeting earlier this month showed officials divided over how much farther they may need to cut interest rates, but in agreement about avoiding concrete guidance.
"With the stock market, no surprises is good news. The market likes certainty above anything else," said Burns McKinney, portfolio manager at NFJ Investment Group in Dallas. "Overall, Fed policymakers are still supportive of a careful approach. ... They didn't say anything hawkish."
On Wall Street, at 3:11 p.m. (2011 GMT) the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 82.93 points, or 0.19%, to 44,819.50; the S&P 500 .SPX rose 26.92 points, or 0.45%, to 6,014.29; and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC rose 86.47 points, or 0.45%, to 19,141.31.
By late afternoon MSCI's gauge of stock markets across the globe .MIWD00000PUS had also turned higher and was up 0.71 point, or 0.08%, to 858.46. Europe's STOXX 600 .STOXX index earlier closed down 0.57%.
While it was below its session high the dollar was still up against the Mexican peso MXN= and Canadian dollar CAD=EBS in afternoon trading.
Trump, citing concerns over illegal immigration and illicit drug trading, had said earlier that he would put a 25% tariff on products from Mexico and Canada, and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China. He had previously threatened to slap tariffs in excess of 60% on Chinese imports.
But investors toned down their initial reactions to the tariff threat and appeared to view it as a "negotiation tool," according to McKinney.
However, U.S. Treasury yields rose on Tuesday, as Monday's sharp bond rally lost momentum as the tariff announcement undid some of the investor optimism from Trump's selection late last week of Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes US10YT=RR rose 4.3 basis points to 4.306%, from 4.263% late on Monday while the 30-year bond US30YT=RR yield rose 3.6 basis points to 4.4828%.
The 2-year note US2YT=RR yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, rose 0.6 basis point to 4.258%, from 4.252% late on Monday.
In currencies, the Mexican peso < MXN=> weakened 1.69% versus the dollar and the Canadian dollar CAD= weakened 0.55% versus the greenback.
While the euro EUR= was down 0.18% against the dollar at $1.0475, against the Japanese yen JPY=, the dollar weakened 0.73% to 153.08.
Oil prices settled lower, slightly extending Monday's losses in choppy trade after news of an agreement for a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, reducing oil's risk premium.
U.S. crude CLc1 settled down 0.25% at $68.77 a barrel and Brent LCOc1 ended at $72.81 per barrel, down 0.27% on the day.
Bitcoin BTC= fell 2.06% to $91,758.00, adding to Monday's losses after last week hitting a record high at $99,830. The token had benefited from speculation of an easier regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies under Trump.
In precious metals, gold prices were caught in a tug-of-war, dipping to a week low as safe-haven demand softened with news of the ceasefire, while concern over Ukraine and Trump's tariff plans added some support.
Spot gold XAU= rose 0.18% to $2,629.86 an ounce while U.S. gold futures GCc1 rose 0.34% to $2,625.60 an ounce.
World FX rates YTD http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Asian stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
(Reporting by Amanda Cooper in London, Sinéad Carew in New York, Kevin Buckland in Tokyo and Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Additional reporting by Stella Qiu; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Mark Potter and Jonathan Oatis)
((sinead.carew@thomsonreuters.com; +13322191897))
Comments