Crypto and stocks tank, Gold surges toward record ATH amid Trump’s auto tariffs

Gold prices climbed close to their all-time high levels on Thursday as US President Donald Trump’s April 2-bound auto tariffs heightened global trade tensions. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 index dropped 1.8%, and the S&P 500 fell 0.2% in early Asian trading. Crypto market valuations also fell 3.5% in the last 24 hours to $2.95 trillion.

Spot gold rose 0.87% to $3,047 an ounce by 12:30 PM GMT, while US gold futures gained 0.8% to $3,041. It reached a record high of $3,057.21 on March 20, as more investors dropped stocks and crypto on their portfolios to accommodate the special metal.

Analysts expect Gold prices to rise further, stocks fall 

Analysts expect further gains, with Aakash Doshi, head of gold at SPDR ETF Strategy, predicting a breach of $3,100 in the second quarter. Doshi believes gold could rise another 8%-10% by the end of 2025 if current macroeconomic and US tariff conditions persist. 

Goldman Sachs also raised its gold price forecast for the end of 2025, increasing its target from $3,100 to $3,300 per ounce due to stronger-than-expected exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows and sustained central bank demand.

On the other financial side, stock markets in Asia followed Wall Street’s downward trend on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.2%, while South Korea’s KOSPI dropped 1.39%. 

Japanese and South Korean automakers, which have significant exposure to the US market, suffered sharp losses. Toyota Motor shares tumbled 4%, Mazda Motor dropped 5%, and Subaru slid 6%. The downtick comes after President Trump announced a 25% tariff on imported cars.

US automakers General Motors slumped 8%, while Ford and Chrysler-parent Stellantis saw shares decline by about 4.5% each. 

In currency markets, the Mexican peso and Canadian dollar bore the brunt of the impact, declining 0.8% and 0.2%, respectively. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, climbed 0.5% overnight to 104.71, its highest in three weeks, before settling at 104.58 on Thursday. US Treasury yields benchmark rates are holding steady at 4.354% after gaining five basis points overnight.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP tread on negative lines

The broader crypto market, led by Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP), is in a bloodbath. The leading digital asset by market cap had inched up 1% to $87,500 in early morning trading sessions but dropped to $86,800 by noon, a 1.1% fall from its intraday highs.

On the hourly chart, Bitcoin was respecting the $87,061 pivot level after bouncing from its $86,500 support. The structure showed signs of strengthening momentum, with higher lows forming, while the 20-day moving average (MA20) at $84,232 acted as support.

Still, it faces resistance at the 50-day moving average (MA50) at $89,780. The asset remained trapped in a compression zone between MA20 and MA50, with decreasing buy-side pressure. 

According to Coingecko data, Ethereum (ETH) continued to face selling pressure, trading at $2,019.70 after a 2.14% drop over the past 24 hours. The second-largest cryptocurrency is still on a four-month-long downtrend, declining 17.15% over the past 30 days and nearly 40% over the past 90 days. 

XRP was trading below both its 50-day moving average ($2.42) and 200-day moving average ($2.55), confirming that bears have control. The asset has failed to break above the $2.58 resistance level multiple times, leading to a lower-high pattern that suggested weakening bullish momentum.

The price remained confined between $2.29 support and $2.43 resistance. For a bullish reversal to materialize, XRP would need to break and close above $2.45 with strong volume and reclaim its 50-day moving average. Until then, the cryptocurrency could uphold a bearish consolidation phase, with downward pressure outweighing buying interest.