What Moved The Markets This Week

Apr 13, 2025

Sunday Morning Markets

Trading Week 15, covering Monday, April 7 through Friday, Apr 11. Your weekly financial markets update, in less than 5 minutes.

Trump lowers tariff rate to 10% for all countries for 90 days to encourage trade talks, temporarily easing pressure on global partners. China was excluded from the delay, facing a sharp hike to a 125% tariff rate.
Core inflation eased to a 4-year low at 2.8%, while headline CPI dropped to 2.4% in March. The report should ease pressure on the Fed, as markets see a 40% chance of a cut in May, and 3 cuts in 2025.
Wholesale prices unexpectedly fell 0.4% in March, marking the first drop since 2023 and signaling cooling inflation just as Trump’s sweeping new tariffs add fresh uncertainty to the inflation outlook.
U.S. budget deficit hits $1.3 trillion in first six months, the second highest on record, as spending surges and efforts to cut costs fall short, fueling warnings of unsustainable fiscal policy.
Fed’s Kashkari says investors are moving on from the U.S., pointing to rising bond yields and a falling dollar as signs that confidence in America as a safe-haven market is fading amid trade tensions.
TSMC posts 42% Q1 revenue surge on AI boom, slightly topping forecasts at $25.6B as strong demand from clients like Apple and Nvidia outweighs quake losses and chip market shifts.

China hits back with 125% tariffs on U.S. goods, escalating the trade war as U.S. levies hit 145%. Both sides dig in with no talks planned, raising fears of global supply chain shocks.
EU and China discuss trade in response to U.S. punitive tariffs, restarting EV pricing talks and pledging stronger cooperation to stabilize global trade and counter rising U.S. pressure.
China's deflation worsens amid trade war with U.S., with consumer prices down for a second month and producer prices plunging 2.5% as Beijing eyes swift stimulus to revive domestic demand.
Germany slashes 2025 growth forecast to 0.1%, blaming U.S. tariffs and deep-rooted structural issues as Europe’s largest economy teeters on the brink of a third straight year of stagnation.
UK economy beats forecasts with 0.5% growth, far above the 0.1% estimate, as services and production rebound. The Bank of England is expected to cut rates in their May meeting.
BYD brings premium Denza EVs to Europe, launching the Z9GT model amid trade tensions as it accelerates global expansion and challenges Tesla with surging overseas sales and record-breaking growth.
Prada acquires Versace in $1.4B deal after delay, rescuing the brand as Capri sheds assets amid slumping luxury sales and fallout from its blocked $8.5B merger with Coach owner Tapestry.

Meta debuts new Llama 4 AI models, but says its most powerful model, Behemoth, is still in training. The other models, Scout and Maverick, are available for use across Meta's family of apps.
Elon Musk’s xAI launches API for Grok3, offering two model tiers with “reasoning” skills, but faces criticism over high pricing, benchmark claims, and a smaller-than-promised context window.
Amazon aims to slash AI costs with custom chips, says CEO Andy Jassy, citing Trainium2 and inference upgrades while reaffirming Amazon’s push to operate like the “world’s largest startup.”
Shopify says no new hires unless AI can’t do the job as CEO Lütke demands teams prove AI limits. Employees now face AI use checks in performance evaluations.
Anthropic debuts $200 Claude Max plan with perks, offering up to 20x higher usage limits, early access to new features, and signaling a push toward high-end AI subscriptions to boost revenue.
Zoox hits LA streets in robotaxi test rollout, using manually driven vehicles to collect mapping data as it prepares for autonomous rides later this year, trailing Waymo’s lead in commercial service.
Andreessen Horowitz plans $20B AI megafund, aiming to dominate growth-stage investing as global backers seek access to top U.S. startups like xAI, Databricks, and OpenAI.