Another sea of red as tariffs trump ceasefire hopes

Trump's tariff wars.

Ukraine said on Tuesday it is willing to accept a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, a deal that Washington will now put to Moscow.

Investors initially cheered the news, and at one point the Nasdaq was up more than 1%. But Trump's announcement that he will double tariffs on imported steel and aluminum products from Canada to 50% weighed heavily, and traders ended the day with a sea of red across their screens.

Today's Key Market Moves.

* The three main indexes on Wall Street close at fresh five-month lows. The S&P 500 is back in 'correction' territory, down more than 10% from its peak, and the Nasdaq is off 15% from its peak.

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* The dollar slides to a 5-month low against a basket of major currencies, failing to draw any support from the rebound in Treasury yields.

* The biggest driver of that move is the euro, which smashed through $1.09 for the first time since October. $1.10 is now well within view.

* Bitcoin hits a fresh four-month low but ends the day 5% higher, snapping a five-day losing streak, as general risk appetite recovers in U.S. afternoon trading.

* Britain pays a record-high yield on inflation-linked bonds sold via syndication. While U.S. borrowing costs may be easing, they're rising in many parts of the developed world, especially Europe.

The prospect of a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire is a ray of hope for investors, but not enough to lift the darkening economic clouds that are gathering. The brewing global trade war is creating record levels of uncertainty,