Linea Mercati Interview 2/25/25
February 26, 2025Linea Mercati Interview 2/26/25
February 27, 2025The New York Stock Exchange moved without a clear direction on Tuesday, as the publication of a US consumer confidence index below expectations was greeted with pessimism by investors.
The Dow Jones, the only index in the green, gained 0.37% while the Nasdaq index dropped 1.35% and the broader S&P 500 index fell 0.47%.
According to data shared by the Conference Board trade association, consumer confidence fell in February, losing seven points in one month, much more than expected.
Since Donald Trump returned to the White House, this is the second index highlighting concerns among American consumers, particularly about a resumption of inflation.
This nervousness is “linked to concerns about the economy and the prospect of customs duties”, Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities told AFP.
Donald Trump confirmed Monday that the United States would raise its customs duties against Canada and Mexico “on the scheduled date”, March 1, after a one-month reprieve and despite assurances from these two countries.
The American president had announced the implementation of customs duties of 25% on all Canadian and Mexican products before doing an about-face in early February, a few hours before they came into effect, by granting a 30-day reprieve to the two countries.
Such announcements “fundamentally erode investor confidence”, underlines Mr. Cardillo.
As a result, “investors are resorting to the risk reduction strategy (…), seeking protection against stock volatility” by turning to the bond market, noted Jose Torres of Interactive Brokers in a note.
The yield on ten-year US government bonds eased very sharply, to 4.30% against 4.40% on Monday at the close.
The values associated with cryptocurrencies suffered from the heavy fall of bitcoin: the exchange platforms Coinbase and Robinhood fell by 6.42% and 8.03% respectively while the software publisher MicroStrategy, the largest private holder of digital currencies, fell by 11.42%.
Bitcoin fell below $88,000 on Tuesday, due to the uncertain climate generated by Donald Trump’s statements.
Ahead of its earnings release on Wednesday, semiconductor giant Nvidia dropped 2.80%.
Shares of electric vehicle pioneer Tesla fell more than 8% after it reported halving sales in Europe due to a change in lineup and possibly boss Elon Musk’s stance that would put off buyers.
