Shares skid as Nvidia hurt by US chip-sale curbs, gold hits record

Global shares fell on Wednesday, with gold trading at record highs and the dollar languishing, as U.S. restrictions on chip sales to China and continued uncertainty battered tech stocks.Washington issued new export licensing requirements for sales of Nvidia's H20 and AMD's MI308 artificial intelligence chips to China. Nvidia said the move would cost it $5.5 billion, and its shares slumped 7%."Capital markets remain caught between news about new tariffs and, on the other hand, about tariff negotiations or suspensions," Paul Christopher, a strategist with the Wells Fargo Investment Institute, wrote in a note Wednesday.The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%, the S&P 500 dropped 1.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slumped 2.1%. Fresh data on Wednesday showed that U.S. retail sales surged in March as households boosted purchases of motor vehicles ahead of tariffs, though concerns about the economic outlook are hurting discretionary spending."It is very possible that consumers are front-loading their purchases, and we may be seeing an artificial bump in sales, which the market will likely look through," Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management, said in an email.Treasury yields ticked lower ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later in the day. Traders are wondering if he will echo the dovish tone set by his colleague Fed Governor Christopher Waller.Separately, President ordered a probe into potential new tariffs on all U.S. critical mineral imports, on top of reviews into pharmaceutical and chip imports. Beijing is continuing to play hardball, having reportedly ordered airlines to suspend deliveries of Boeing aircraft .European stocks fell, with the STOXX 600 index down 0.2%.The selloff in Asian stocks gathered pace in the afternoon. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) fell 0.8%, snapping a four-day winning streak.Chinese blue chips rose 0.3%, as investors also digested some solid GDP data that predated the tariff increases in April, but the Hong Kong Hang Seng index fell 1.9%."The broader focus still remains on tariffs," said Aneeka Gupta, economist and strategist at WisdomTree."In China, we've had the restrictions raise concerns that access to global tech hardware would be further choked off," Gupta said. "That's also resulting in a bit of a risk-off sentiment in the market."The White House said Trump is open to making a trade deal with China but Beijing should make the first move.The World Trade Organization sharply cut its forecast for global merchandise trade from solid growth to a decline on Wednesday, saying further U.S. tariffs and spillover effects could lead to the heaviest slump since the height of the COVID pandemic.GOLD SHINESAll of the uncertainties left gold in an unstoppable position, with bullion hitting another record high of $3,327 per ounce, last up 3%.Australian bank ANZ on Wednesday updated its forecast for gold to hit $3,600 an ounce by the year's end, saying safe-haven demand for the asset would accelerate.The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the currency against six peers, slid 0.7% to around its lowest since April 2022 in a sign investors remained cautious about U.S. assets .The Japanese yen and Swiss franc, seen as safe assets during market turbulence, rallied around 0.5% and 1% respectively. The yen is trading around its highest level since September while the franc is at its highest in 10 years .Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda told the Sankei newspaper that the central bank may need to take policy action if U.S. tariffs hurt the Japanese economy, signalling the potential to pause the bank's rate-hiking cycle.Investors moved into European government bonds as stocks fell but steered clear of Treasuries.The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was down slightly at 4.312%, after yields surged last week on concerns about the stability of the U.S. economy.Oil prices rose around 1.7% on Wednesday, reversing early losses as the market took a bullish view on China's stance on potential trade talks with the United States, though gains were capped by continuing fears that the trade war will curb energy demand.In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin added 1% to $84,994, down nearly 10% for the year.