Sawt Falasteen - Dollar slides, stocks diverge as China hits back at US tariffs

After blockbuster rallies for equities Thursday in response to a 90-day pause in the tariffs unveiled by US President Donald Trump, with the exception of China, stock markets traded mixed at the end of a highly volatile week.

"The main driver of the renewed market pressure was an increased focus on the US-China escalation," said Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank.

China retaliated on Friday against massive US tariffs with its own 125-percent duties on goods from the United States, but said it would "ignore" future increases by Washington.

That left European stocks struggling for direction in early afternoon deals, with Frankfurt falling 0.5 percent and Paris up 0.1 percent.

London rose nearly one percent after data showed that the UK economy grew far more than expected in February.

Oil prices rebounded only by a small amount after huge falls on Thursday.

"Neither the US nor China are showing signs of backing down, with President Trump expressing confidence in his tariff plans," Reid added.

The dollar plunged to the lowest level against the euro in more than three years and slid against other main rivals as investors fled what is typically considered a key safe-haven currency.

US bonds were also under pressure amid speculation that China was offloading some of its vast holdings in retaliation for Trump's measures.

With treasuries being sold off, sending their yields higher and making US debt more expensive, there is a fear of a bigger exodus from American assets down the line.

The weaker dollar and the rush for safety sent gold to a fresh record high above $3,220 an ounce.

"There remains considerable uncertainty around the impact of tariffs on economies and company earnings, and that could keep markets volatile for some time," noted Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

In equities trading, the Tokyo stock market shed three percent -- a day after surging more than nine percent -- while Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Wellington and Bangkok were also in the red.

However, Hong Kong and Shanghai rose as traders focused on possible Chinese stimulus measures.

Beijing said earlier on Friday it would implement a moderately loose monetary policy in a bid to reassure investors.

There were gains in Taipei and Ho Chi Minh City stocks as the leaders of Taiwan and Vietnam said they would hold talks with Trump.

The generally downbeat mood came after hefty losses on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 lost 3.5 percent, the Dow 2.5 percent and the Nasdaq 4.3 percent.

Trump also warned that the huge tariffs delayed on Wednesday would be reintroduced if no agreements had been made between Washington and other countries.

"If we can't make the deal we want to make... then we'd go back to where we were," he said.

- Key figures around 1050 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.9 percent at 7,980.95 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,131.52

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 20,448.17

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 3.0 percent at 33,585.58 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.1 percent at 20,914.69 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,238.23 (close)

New York - Dow: DOWN 2.5 percent at 39,593.66 (close)

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 143.00 yen from 144.79 yen on Thursday

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1336 from $1.1183

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3065 from $1.2954

Euro/pound: UP at 86.76 pence from 86.33 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.4 percent at $63.58 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $60.36 per barrel

R.Halabi--SF-PST