Wall Street Stumbles Amid Political and Trade Pressures
U.S. stocks fell sharply on Monday amid political attacks on the Federal Reserve escalated,
alongside growing trade tensions between the United States and China.
These losses followed a fresh assault by former President Donald Trump on Fed Chair Jerome Powell,
raising investor concerns over the independence of U.S. monetary policy.

Contents

Wall Street
Germany
United States

Wall Street

Wall Street Closes with Sharp Losses as Political and Trade Tensions Escalate
Major U.S. indices ended Monday’s session with significant collective declines
amid mounting political pressure on the Federal Reserve and worsening trade disputes between the U.S. and China.
The downturn followed another verbal attack by President Donald Trump on Fed Chair Jerome Powell,
which sparked investor fears over the central bank’s independence.

Tensions between Washington and Beijing also intensified after China warned countries against signing trade deals
with the U.S. at its expense—another sign of deepening tariff conflicts between the world’s two largest economies.

As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 2.5%, or 971 points, marking its fourth straight daily loss.
The S&P 500 fell by 2.4%, bringing its total losses to 16% from its February 19 peak.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite declined 2.55%, totaling a 21% loss since its last high on December 16.

This comes as the Q1 earnings season gains momentum, with dozens of companies announcing results this week.
So far, 59 companies listed on the S&P 500 have reported earnings, with over 68% exceeding Wall Street’s expectations.

Germany

80% of German Companies Expect Major Damage from U.S. Tariffs
A survey conducted by the ZEW Institute revealed that more than 80% of German companies in the manufacturing
and IT sectors expect U.S. tariffs to cause significant harm to the German economy, the largest in the Eurozone.

The poll, which included 800 companies, showed that one in five firms believe U.S. trade policies
Under the current administration, it could inflict “severe damage” on the German economy.

In the manufacturing sector specifically, 46% of firms anticipate direct negative effects on their operations,
while around 64% voiced broader concerns for the sector overall.

Half of the industrial companies exporting to the U.S. market feared declining business.
Meanwhile, 42% of firms not directly involved in trade with the U.S. expect to be indirectly affected,
highlighting widespread concerns over how American protectionist policies may ripple through the German economy.

United States

M&A Deals Slow Down Despite Higher Value in Q1 2025
Mergers and acquisitions activity carried out by U.S. investment banks in the U.S. and Canada saw a noticeable slowdown in Q1 2025,
According to estimates published by S&P Global.
The number of deals reached about 4,110, down 4% compared to the same period in 2024,
despite the total deal value increasing to $420.5 billion, up from $397 billion a year earlier.

The data includes transactions from major banks such as
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo.
These institutions cited ongoing political and economic uncertainty, particularly regarding U.S. trade policy,
as a major reason investors are delaying decisions on large transactions, despite optimism at the end of 2024.

Another key factor impacting sentiment was growing concern over increased competition in the AI sector,
especially following the entry of China’s DeepSeek with low-cost models,
posing a challenge to the dominance of U.S. firms like Nvidia.

Wall Street Stumbles Amid Political and Trade Pressures

Wall Street Stumbles Amid Political and Trade Pressures

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