Stocks Stabilize, Gold Hits Record before Trump Tariff Reveal

FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are displayed at a gold jewelery shop in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh May 8, 2012. REUTERS/Ajay Verma (INDIA - Tags: BUSINESS COMMODITIES)/File Photo

Asian equities rose on Tuesday following Wall Street's overnight gains, while gold hit an all-time peak and Treasury yields fell as markets awaited details of US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs.
The Japanese yen strengthened as traditional haven assets drew demand.
At the same time, the risk-sensitive Australian dollar rebounded after the Reserve Bank of Australia left interest rates steady, as widely expected, but warning of "pronounced" global uncertainty.
Regional stocks found some respite on the first day of April after being battered in March by worries that Trump's trade war could trigger stagflation or even a US recession, reported Reuters.
Investors are nervously awaiting April 2, a day Trump has dubbed "Liberation Day", when he has promised to unveil a massive reciprocal tariff plan.
Australia's benchmark equity index advanced 1%, while South Korea's KOSPI climbed 1.9% and Taiwan's equity benchmark rose 1.7%, following steep drops on Monday.
At the same time, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Japan's Nikkei gave up gains of 1% or more to be flat to slightly higher. Mainland Chinese blue chips were also little changed after struggling all session.
Pan-European STOXX 50 futures added 0.35%.
The US S&P 500 gained 0.55% on Monday, snapping a three-day losing run, but futures pointed 0.34% lower.
"It is possible that a significant portion of last night's rebound in the key (Wall Street) indices was attributable to month-end and quarter-end rebalancing flows, as well as short covering ahead of Trump's Liberation Day, amid considerable uncertainty about what comes next," said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG.
"US equity markets are priced for a slowdown in growth and earnings. However, they are not priced for a recession, and if the US economy enters recession, US stock markets could easily fall by another 10%."
Bullion powered to a record high for a fourth straight session, hitting $3,148.88 per ounce.
"On top of general risk aversion, investors are increasing allocation to gold with the Trump administration's trade policy threatening the dollar's special reserve status," said Kyle Rodda, senior financial markets analyst at Capital.com.
"The fundamental backdrop remains strong for gold."
DOLLAR UNDER PRESSURE
Demand for the safety of Treasuries sent yields lower on Tuesday, with those on benchmark 10-year notes sinking some 5 basis points to 4.1920%.
That put pressure on the dollar, which slipped 0.08% to 149.85 yen. The euro was steady at $1.0813.
The Aussie added 0.14% to $0.6258. The RBA held rates at 4.1%, having just cut them by a quarter point in February for the first time in over four years.
"Geopolitical uncertainties are also pronounced," the RBA said in its statement, adding that US tariffs are having an impact on confidence globally.
"The RBA's statement suggests they're inching towards their next cut, but in no rush to signal one," said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index.
"The RBA just want more time to be confident that policy is on the right track."
Bitcoin was slightly higher at around $83,040.
Oil prices rose, adding to the 2% surge from Monday. Brent gained 0.23% to $74.94 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 0.22% to $71.64.
At the weekend, Trump threatened secondary tariffs on Russian crude and on Iran. He also warned Iran of bombing if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.