Trump's protectionist rhetoric boosts safety plays by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed on Jan 23, 2017, 1:58 PM Advertisement
 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar fell to a seven-week low against a basket of key world currencies on Monday and global stock markets declined amid investor concerns over protectionist rhetoric by U.S. President Donald Trump. U.S. Treasury yields dipped and gold rallied as demand for safe-haven assets was boosted by Trump's stance on trade. On Monday, Trump told U.S. manufacturing executives he would impose a hefty border tax on firms that import products into the United States after moving American factories overseas. He also plans to sign an executive order to renegotiate the free trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, NBC News reported. Fears of a protectionist White House, and scant details on proposed tax cuts, infrastructure spending and deregulation, have prompted some investors to reassess the level of possible future government stimulus to bolster the U.S. economy. "The market might want to see tax cuts and infrastructure spending first, but this shouldn't be a surprise. Renegotiation of trade agreements is what he campaigned on," said Mike Lorizio, senior fixed-income trader at Manulife Asset Management in Boston. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major rivals, was down 0.51 percent at 100.23. A steep rally in the dollar following Trump's election victory in November had been spurred by expectations the new administration would focus on pro-growth fiscal stimulus, tax cuts, and regulatory reform that would likely lift inflation and prompt the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise rates more quickly this year. The safe-haven yen has been the main beneficiary of recent U.S. political uncertainty, rising for a second session against the dollar. MSCI's world index, which tracks shares in 46 countries, was down 0.06 percent. The index fell as U.S. stocks slipped. "We are sitting near all-time highs but there isn't anything fresh from earnings or President Trump that is going to make investors run out and buy stocks," said Andre Bakhos, managing director of Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 62.06 points, or 0.31 percent, to 19,765.19, the S&P 500 lost 9.6 points, or 0.42 percent, to 2,261.71, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 18.59 points, or 0.33 percent, to 5,536.75. Among individual stock movers, shares in Qualcomm Inc have dived almost 15 percent after it was sued by Apple on Friday. European shares fell, weighed down by banks and a profit warning at filter products maker Essentra. Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 0.55 percent at 1,424.53. In bond markets, U.S. Treasury yields slipped ahead of $88 billion in government debt supply this week as investor jitters over Trump's tough stance on trade spurred safe-haven demand for bonds. The U.S. 10-year note was up 14/32 in price to yield 2.417 percent, compared with 2.467 percent late on Friday. Meanwhile, oil prices fell as signs of a strong recovery in U.S. oil drilling activity outweighed news that OPEC and non-OPEC producers were on track to meet output reduction goals set in December. Brent crude was down 0.32 percent at $55.3 a barrel, while U.S. crude was down 0.75 percent at $52.82. Gold rose to the highest in two months as uncertainty over Trump's economic policies led investors to reach for safe-haven assets. Spot gold was up 0.57 percent to $1,216.51 an ounce. (Additional reporting by Richard Leong in New York and Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernadette Baum) SEE ALSO: FINANCE PROFESSOR: Trump's 'failed economics' could push the US back into recession by 2018
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