Vietnamese Prime Minister sets the tone: "Negotiations should not harm other markets," U.S. stock index futures rebound, spot gold surges to $3,500, Vietnamese stock market plummets, and the yen briefly breaks above the 140 mark

Under the dual pressure of Trump's threat to fire Powell and the discussions between the finance ministers of Japan and the U.S. on "currency issues," the sentiment of "selling America" has driven gold prices to set new historical highs, the yen has broken through the psychological barrier of 140 against the dollar, and the dollar index has fallen to a three-year low. The Prime Minister of Vietnam has stated that "negotiations should not harm other markets," leading to a plunge in the Vietnamese stock market.

After the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 plummeted over 2% on Monday, both major futures indexes rose about 1% on Tuesday afternoon.

After the Easter holiday, traders returned to the market, with European stocks opening mixed. The Euro Stoxx 50 index opened down 0.33%, German stocks fell 0.32%, British stocks rose 0.05%, and French stocks dropped 0.24%. Among key stocks, Novo Nordisk plummeted 9.8% after Eli Lilly announced data on its obesity drug.

In the Asia-Pacific market, the Vietnamese stock index quickly declined, with the VN index's drop expanding to 5%, reporting 1146.20 points.

The Vietnamese government website quoted Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh as saying at a meeting in Hanoi on Tuesday that Pham Minh Chinh urged the government trade negotiation team to be "fully prepared" for the upcoming tariff negotiations with the U.S. and to ensure that the negotiations "do not negatively impact other agreements or markets."

As traders seek safe havens, COMEX gold futures and London spot gold both surpassed $3,500 per ounce, setting new historical highs. As of the time of writing, gold prices have slightly retreated to $3,486.75 per ounce, up 1.83% for the day. Analysts warn of potential profit-taking by bulls in the short term, while Goldman Sachs has once again raised its gold price forecast, expecting gold prices to reach $3,700 per ounce by the end of this year.

After Trump repeatedly criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Powell, concerns about Powell's potential dismissal have grown, leading to a triple whammy for U.S. stocks, currencies, and bonds. Trump has called for an immediate interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, an action seen as jeopardizing the independence of the central bank. Kallanish Index Services analyst Lee Liang Le stated:

The rapid rise in gold prices this year tells me that market confidence in the U.S. is lower than ever. The "Trump trade" has evolved into a narrative of "selling America." The Japanese yen has risen above 140 against the US dollar for the first time, reaching a new high since last September.

The US dollar continues to weaken, with the dollar index currently at 98.23, the lowest level since March 2022. According to reports, Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki will visit Washington this week, where he may hold bilateral talks with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during the G20 finance ministers' meeting and the IMF-World Bank spring meetings.

Shibata Hideki, a senior fixed income and foreign exchange strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute, stated:

If the yen significantly exceeds the 140 level or the 139.5 level reached last September, technical factors will more easily trigger buying of the yen and selling of the dollar, accelerating the appreciation of the yen.

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