Tariff risk rattles European shares; Wall Street mixed

Major Wall Street indexes were mixed on Thursday as fresh U.S. data hurt sentiment, and European stock markets fell following a threat from U.S. President Donald Trump to impose 25% tariffs on imports from the region.Dampening some risk-taking, data showed jobless claims stood at 242,000, higher than estimates of 221,000.Oil prices climbed over 2% as supply concerns resurfaced. Trump revoked Chevron's license to operate in Venezuela. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe EURONEXT:IACWI fell 0.44% and the euro eased. Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields rose after the U.S. data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 194.94 points, or 0.45%, to 43,628.06, the S&P 500 fell 13.49 points, or 0.23%, to 5,942.52 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 169.15 points, or 0.89%, to 18,906.11. Shares of Nvidia , which reported earnings late Wednesday, swung to losses as investors focused on signs of increased AI spending in the industry.Trump created some confusion over the looming duties on top trading partners Canada and Mexico on Wednesday, by signalling they would take effect on April 2, which would be another month-long extension.However, a White House official later said the previous March 4 deadline for the levies remained in effect "as of this moment", stirring further uncertainty about U.S. trade policy.Trump also floated a 25% "reciprocal" on European cars and other goods. European stocks were weaker across the board, with the STOXX 600 index closing down 0.5%, after touching a record high on Wednesday. The index was dragged by automaker and component maker shares (.SXAP) in response to the potential tariffs. "We're almost in a situation where there is so much news that it's leaving traders paralysed, because they don't know what to focus on, and particularly with Trump, what is a negotiating gambit and what is a serious policy proposal," said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone."Given the degree of uncertainty, it does make sense to lighten up on positioning, particularly in riskier assets."A Reuters poll showed that the ECB was set to trim its deposit rate again to 2.5% next week. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 4.9 basis points to 4.298%. The 2-year note (US2YT=RR) yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, rose 2 basis points to 4.092%. Emerging market stocks CBOE:EFS fell 1.05% to 1,123.50. US GROWTH JITTERSThe greenback, which has been under pressure in recent weeks, rose, with the dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, up 0.69%.Traders have raised bets on Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, now seeing two quarter-point reductions this year, with the first likely in July. (IRPR)The Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) index, is due on Friday."Markets are starting to feel less confidence about U.S. growth," said Shoki Omori, chief global desk strategist at Mizuho Securities. Nvidia shares were down over 4% despite the heavyweight U.S. chipmaker and artificial intelligence pioneer giving a strong growth forecast for the first quarter.Cryptocurrency bitcoin fell 0.31% to $84,191.44, following a nearly 12% tumble over the first three days of this week.Bitcoin bull Geoff Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, cautioned against buying the dip just yet in a note to clients."Stay patient," he said. "These types of losses rarely end well and I still think the big capitulation is yet to come." Spot gold hit a two-week low under pressure from a stronger dollar. U.S. gold futures settled 1.2% lower at $2,895.9.