Morning wrap (14.04.2025)

Wall Street clearly rebounded on Friday, with major indexes closing the last session of the week in the green (Nasdaq: +2%, S&P 500: +1.8%, Dow Jones: +1.55%, Russell 2000: +1.6%).

Donald Trump announced a tariff relief on electronic equipment on Sunday, which is fueling optimism in Asia. Consumer electronics (smartphones, laptops, etc.) will now be subject to a 20% rate (instead of, for example, the 125% currently applied to China). Additionally, media reports suggest that Trump will adjust the tariff rate on semiconductors later this week.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the new week kicks off with gains. Alongside the reduced tariffs on electronics, optimism is also being generated by Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Vietnam—the first stop on his regional tour scheduled for this week. Among the indices, the biggest gainers are: HSCEI (+2%), Shanghai SE Composite (+0.7%), Japan’s Nikkei 225 (+1.9%), South Korea’s Kospi (+1%), and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 (+1.3%).

The Bank of China may lower interest rates in response to the effects of the trade war with the U.S., said Yu Yongding. According to the former PBOC advisor, selling pressure on Chinese assets may motivate the institution to aggressively boost liquidity and cut rates to prevent a market sell-off.

The Chinese yuan is slipping by 0.45% to 7.3124 USD, in line with expectations that the PBOC will raise the reference rate against the dollar to a record high of 7.3120.

Japan’s industrial production in February rose slightly below expectations (2.3% m/m, forecast: 2.5%, previous: -1.1%).

China’s trade surplus fell from $170.5 billion to $102.6 billion, though it significantly exceeded the consensus forecast of $74.3 billion. Exports rose by 13% in March (forecast: 4.4%, previous: 1.9%), while imports declined by 3.5% (previous: +2.5%).

On the forex market: the U.S. dollar continues its downward trend from Friday (USDIDX: -0.4%) against nearly all G10 currencies. The exception is the Swiss franc, which is rebounding from its lowest level since September 2024 (USDCHF: +0.23%). The New Zealand dollar (NZDUSD: +0.5%), Norwegian krone (USDNOK: -0.5%), and Japanese yen (USDJPY: -0.45%) are strengthening the most. Other currencies are gaining an average of 0.2–0.3% against the dollar (EURUSD: +0.25%).

Precious metals are seeing a correction after gains at the end of last week. Gold is down 0.2% to $3,230 per ounce, and silver is down 1.25% to $31.90 per ounce.

Brent and WTI crude oil futures continue to decline (by -0.2% and -0.15%, respectively), as does NATGAS, down -2.3%.

Cryptocurrencies are starting the new week with optimism. Bitcoin is recovering from yesterday’s losses and gaining 1% to $84,360, Ethereum is up 2% to $1,621, and contracts for Solana (+4%), Chainlink (+1.2%), Ripple (+1.2%), and Dogecoin (+1.6%) are also in the green.