The Hong Kong Telegraph - Gold tops $3,000 for first time on Trump tariff threats; stocks rebound

US shares rose in early deals after slumping in recent sessions while Asian equities ended the week on a positive note.

European stock markets were also given a lift in afternoon deals after Germany moved closer to approving a massive infrastructure and defence spending programme.

In Washington, with just hours until a deadline to push a Republican spending bill through, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer dropped his threat to block it.

The package would keep the government operating through September, but Democrats have come under pressure from their base to defy the plan, which they say is full of harmful spending cuts.

Stocks gained support from "a burgeoning sense that a government shutdown will be averted after Senator Schumer said he will vote for House-passed continuing resolution," said Patrick O'Hare, analyst at Briefing.com.

O'Hare said stocks were also getting a boost from speculation China would announce more stimulus measures, and from reports that meetings between Canadian and US officials had made some progress towards easing trade tensions.

In the eurozone, Paris and Frankfurt both rebounded after losses the previous day on US tariff threats.

Germany's likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said his conservatives had struck a deal with the Greens on massively boosting defence and infrastructure spending, paving the way for the plan's approval in parliament.

"Germany is poised to pursue essential structural reforms while hoping for an end to the economic downturn," said Jochen Stanzl, an analyst at CMC Markets. "Investor sentiment shifted dramatically today."

- Times of uncertainty -

Gold, a haven in times of uncertainty, rose as much as $3,004 an ounce before paring back gains later in the day to trade just under $3,000.

The precious metal was "boosted on increased haven demand amid trade war risks and recent stock market volatility", said Fawad Razaqzada, an analyst at City Index and Forex.com.

In the latest salvo, Trump threatened to impose 200 percent tariffs on wine, champagne and other alcoholic beverages from EU countries.

His threat came after the bloc's planned levies on American-made whiskey and other products in retaliation to US levies on steel and aluminium.

Trump said he would not row back on the metals duties, nor his plans for sweeping tariffs on countries worldwide that are to kick in on April 2.

Wall Street has been hammered in recent sessions by trade tensions, with the S&P 500 slipping into a technical correction Thursday, having fallen more than 10 percent from the record high it hit just last month.

Some analysts warned that Friday's rebound would be short-lived.

"Recent rallies have run into a buzzsaw of selling pressure," said Nathan Peterson, an analyst at Charles Schwab. "Tariff escalations, a potential government shutdown, and persistent growth concerns due to trade policy make it difficult to sustain any kind of a bounce."

In company news, shares in Gucci-owner Kering plunged more than 11 percent in Paris as the group appointed a new creative director to helm its struggling flagship brand.

Shares in BMW were in the red as the German automaker warned that trade tensions between the United States, Europe and China would cost the company $1 billion this year.

Major Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings -- owned by tycoon Li Ka-shing -- tumbled after Chinese officials in the city reposted a newspaper opinion piece attacking the firm over its sale of a controlling stake in Panama ports under pressure from Trump.

It had surged as much as 25 percent after the sale was announced last week.

- Key figures around 1640 GMT -

New York - Dow: Up 1.2 percent at 41,304.64 points

New York - S&P 500: UP 1.6 percent at 5,608.70

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 2.0 percent at 17,655.95

London - FTSE 100: UP 1.1 percent at 8,632.33 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.1 percent at 8,028.28 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.9 percent at 22,986.82 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 37,053.10 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.1 percent at 23,959.98 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.8 percent at 3,419.56 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0878 from $1.0849 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2919 from $1.2948

Dollar/yen: UP at 148.29 yen from 147.75 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 84.23 pence from 83.75 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $70.33 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $66.97 per barrel

鄭-H.Zhèng--THT-士蔑報