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Stocks fall amid inflation worries and trade war concerns

Stocks fall amid inflation worries and trade war concerns

On Friday, an index of global stocks traded lower as gold, the safe haven asset, hit a new record high. This was due to worries about a trade war that could be triggered by Trump's tariff decisions.

The latest inflation figures were a source of frustration for U.S. traders, but Trump's 25% auto import tariffs and his plans to impose even more levies in the coming week continued to be a cause for concern.

All three major Wall Street indexes lost ground, and they were headed for their third consecutive session of losses. Communication services, consumer discretionary and technology stocks were the biggest losers. Utilities were up.

The STOXX 600 Index in Europe finished the week at 1.39% lower than it started, mainly due to a drop of nearly 1% by the auto and auto parts sector

MSCI's index of global stocks fell by 13.31 points or 1.58% to 829.91. It's on track to finish the week down by 1.45%.

Michael Metcalfe, State Street's global macro strategy head, said that the U.S. auto tariffs were more aggressive than anticipated. This is especially true since Washington's neighbors like Mexico and Canada have not been adjusted.

Metcalfe stated, "I don't know if the hawkishness in the auto tariffs will translate into the broader tariffs we are going get next week." "And this is keeping the risk appetite on the backfoot."

The gold price has meanwhile reached a new high of $3,086.70 amid the trade war threat. Last week, it was up 0.94% at $3,084.90 per ounce. For the quarter, its performance is up over 17%.

(source: Reuters)