GOLD BULLION extended its rebound to set fresh all-time highs in the US Dollar and UK Pound on Thursday while Asian and European stock markets jumped but US equities sank, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq index reversing almost half of yesterday's near-record rally, made after President Trump "paused" his so-called "reciprocal" trade tariffs on all countries except China.

 

Yesterday the S&P500 index leapt by 9.5% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index jumped by 12.2%, its largest-ever 1-day jump outside of 3 January 2001 and its first double-digit gain since 13 October 2008.

 

Like 5 December 2000 − the Nasdaq's only other double-digit gain − both of those jumps came amid a run of heavy losses. Both also came during longer-term bear markets, fated to cut the Nasdaq by 57.4% and 31.2% respectively.

 

Having made 15-month lows on Monday, the Nasdaq today sank 5.7% while so-called crypto currency Bitcoin − also now meeting the technical definition of a bear market, with a loss of more than 1/5th from its recent record highs − also halved yesterday's bounce of 8.2%.

 

Gold in contrast rose almost $90 per Troy ounce to set a fresh record high in London spot-market trading at $3174, while silver rallied further from Monday's 7-month low of $28.32 but failed to hold above $31.

 

That sent the Gold/Silver Ratio, already signalling global recession if not economic depression, higher again to 102.

 

 

"Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World's Markets," Trump tweeted on Wednesday, using the TruthSocial platform he owns, "I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately."

 

But for the rest of the world, "Mr.Trump has blinked. The bond vigilantes have brought him to heel," reckons the UK's Sky News, joining Bloomberg and the Financial Times in attributing yesterday's announcement to this week's drop in Treasury bond prices, driving up Washington's cost of borrowing.

 

Wednesday's sudden announcement, however, came after an auction of $39 billion in new 10-year US Treasury debt met strong demand among investors, pulling bond-market rates down 0.2 percentage points from yesterday morning's 12-week peak at 5.00% per annum.

 

Ten-year yields today held around the 4.30% level as Japan's Topix share index leapt 8.1%, the EuroStoxx 600 added 4.3%, and China's CSI300 gained 1.3% despite Trump's latest tariffs attack, rising for the 3rd session in a row since Beijing's central bank said it is supporting equity ETF purchases by the country's sovereign wealth fund.

 

With gold and silver bullion already exempt from the 'Liberation Day' tariffs that took force Wednesday morning, Trump's "pause" in fact resets his latest round of additional tariffs on European and most other imports to 10% for the next 90 days.

 

That's because unlike China, "these Countries have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape, or form against the United States," Trump said, claiming that "more than 75 Countries have called Representatives of the United States, including the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and the US [Treasury] to negotiate a solution to the subjects being discussed relative to Trade, Trade Barriers, Tariffs, Currency Manipulation, and Non Monetary Tariffs..."

 

As industrially-useful silver rose Thursday, the price of base metal copper held onto yesterday's gains, trading 8.1% above yesterday morning's 3-month low.

 

But crude oil fell back from yesterday's post-Trump rebounds, dropping within $3 of Wednesday's 4-year low for European benchmark Brent beneath $60 per barrel.

 

Gold in Euro terms peaked 2.0% below last week's all-time high of €2910 per Troy ounce as the European Union matched Trump's trade-tariff "pause" by suspending its retaliatory plans.

 

UK Pound gold prices hit new records above £2447.