SINGAPORE/LONDON - Stocks retreated on Wednesday, while safe-haven gold held near record highs as a nervous world awaited details of US President Donald Trump's tariff plans and investors fretted about the risks of an intensifying global trade war.

Investor focus in recent weeks has been firmly on the new round of reciprocal levies that the White House is due to announce on Wednesday at 2000 GMT and which are expected to take effect immediately after Trump announces them.

Trump has already imposed tariffs on aluminium, steel and autos, along with increased duties on all goods from China that have rattled markets as fears grow a full-blown trade war could trigger a sharp global economic slowdown.

In Europe, activity across the broader markets was muted, with stocks pointing slightly lower, while currencies and bond yields held steady.

The STOXX 600 European benchmark, many of whose components are highly vulnerable to a hit from US tariffs, traded down 0.9 percent on the day, led by declines in the heavyweight pharmaceutical sector.

Various measures of volatility - often a proxy for investor nervousness - edged up, reflecting the last-minute rush by traders to secure short-term hedges against big price swings across currencies, stocks and bonds.

"Whatever's announced today, I doubt very much will be the framework that's in place in say nine months' time because we know there'll be negotiations around this," Daiwa Capital economist Chris Scicluna said.

"It's very difficult to predict with any confidence what the ultimate impact is going to be, whether broadly, economically, in terms of rates or in terms of stock markets," he said.

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended higher after losing ground earlier in the session. The Dow finished a shade lower.

Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq, were down 0.3-0.4 percent.

"Investors are hoping for some clarity, and perhaps the start of the deal-making phase. But tariffs are already weighing on business sentiment, and this will probably feed through into lower global economic activity in the coming months," said Ben Bennett, Asia-Pacific investment strategist at Legal & General Investment Management.

Soft data

Beyond the tariff news, investors are increasingly worried by signs of rising prices, slowing growth and cracks in the labor market.

Data showed US manufacturing contracted in March after growing for two straight months, while a measure of inflation at the factory gate jumped to the highest level in nearly three years amid rising anxiety over tariffs on imported goods.

A report from the Labour Department also showed on Tuesday that US job openings fell in February by 194,000 to 7.568 million as uncertainty surrounding tariffs squelched labour demand.

The yield on the benchmark US 10-year Treasury note was up 1 basis point at 4.168 percent having slid to 4.133 percent on Tuesday, its lowest level since March 4.

The currency markets remained muted. The euro was steady at $1.0797, while the sterling changed hands at $1.2916. The yen held at 149.55 per dollar.

The spotlight though will remain on tariff details, especially after a media report said Trump's aides are considering a plan that would raise duties on products by about 20 percent from nearly every country, rather than targeting certain countries or products.

"We head into Trump’s moment to shine with many having already deleveraged to run as flat or neutral a position as they can in equity, the USD (dollar) and Treasuries," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.

The price of gold, viewed as a safeguard against financial and political stress, rose 0.5 percent to $3,125 an ounce, just below Tuesday's record high.

Gold has jumped 19 percent so far this year, adding to a 27 percent gain in 2024 that was its best annual performance in over a decade.

Oil prices eased, leaving Brent futures down 0.5 percent to $74.06 a barrel, while US crude futures fell 0.6 percent to $70.77 a barrel.