​​Market snapshot: an ever-changing investment landscape

US markets shook off a brief dip into the red during another turbulent trading session which encapsulated the current theme where sentiment can turn on a sixpence.

The optimists are beginning to hope that the most recent pronouncements from the White House represent a dialling down of the extreme measures initially proposed, with the car industry potentially joining some of the technology sector in seeing lesser tariffs. However, the situation remains far from clear, with the pharmaceuticals now seemingly in the crosshairs of the President, which has weighed on the major European players.

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The current fallout is also mixed as a result of the ever-changing landscape. The volatility index and US Treasuries both steadied, although the dollar remains out of favour in the face of falling appetite for US assets in general, as well as the more pressing possibility of the economy heading towards recession.

There was some promising news following the release of first-quarter numbers from The Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), which reported a jump of 15% in profits, largely driven by market volatility that led to record revenues in its trading divisions. Of equal interest to investors were the outlook comments on current and future trading, where a relatively non-committal statement did little more than recognise a “markedly different” environment in the coming months. At the same time, the IPO market remains listless, while corporate clients’ caution is likely to pervade nearer term.

The incrementally better news has brought back some sense of order to the markets, even though investors remain on high alert for the next potential bombshell from the White House.

The main indices have clawed back some of their losses although in the year to date, the Dow Jones remains down by 4.7% and the S&P500 by 8.1%, while the Nasdaq’s fall of 12.8% has led to its remaining in correction territory and significantly away from its record closing high as set in December.

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Asian markets were mixed to higher overnight, with Japanese car companies feeling the benefit of potential tariff reductions. Toyota and Honda saw gains of almost 5%, while there was an overhanging sense of relief around semiconductor shares following the recent announcements. Even so, these markets are also skittish and are likely to remain so until the economic tariff clouds have at least begun to clear.

UK markets edged cautiously ahead after a raft of data suggested some defiant resilience in the domestic economy. The unemployment rate was unchanged, pay growth continued to strengthen and there was an increase in consumer spending in March, attributed to some unseasonally warmer weather. Even so, the possibility remains that some of this spending has simply been brought forward ahead of the tribulations to come and the fact that the FTSE250 remains down by 7.6% this year is evidence of investor caution on prospects.

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The premier index looked rather healthier at the open, with a broad markup across the main sectors erasing the FTSE100’s losses and leaving the index currently unchanged in the year to date.

The read across from Goldmans in the US edged up the price of Barclays (LSE:BARC) once more where, despite the recent turmoil, the shares have risen by 13% over the last week and by 49% over the last year. At its full-year numbers in February, the group attributed 44% of revenues to its US division, which should augur well for its own first-quarter report at the end of the month.