Trump Tariffs Crash Global Equities Markets
Contributed Opinion

1. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Getchell Gold Corp. and Fitzroy Minerals Inc. 
2. Michael Ballanger: I, or members of my immediate household or family, own securities of: All. My company has a financial relationship with: All. I determined which companies would be included in this article based on my research and understanding of the sector.
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This letter makes no guarantee or warranty on the accuracy or completeness of the data provided. Nothing contained herein is intended or shall be deemed to be investment advice, implied or otherwise. This letter represents my views and replicates trades that I am making but nothing more than that. Always consult your registered advisor to assist you with your investments. I accept no liability for any loss arising from the use of the data contained on this letter. Options and junior mining stocks contain a high level of risk that may result in the loss of part or all invested capital and therefore are suitable for experienced and professional investors and traders only. One should be familiar with the risks involved in junior mining and options trading and we recommend consulting a financial adviser if you feel you do not understand the risks involved.

The Trump Tariffs have sent the global equities markets into crash mode as the DJIA futures are down over 1,200 points, with the S&P 500 down 200. Metals are also lower in response to the liquidity squeeze but are still the preferred asset to paper.

The U.S. dollar index futures (-1.36%) are down to 102.895, while the 10-year yield is down 1.42%) to 4.077%, while the 30-year yield is down 1.80% to 4.469%.

Gold (-0.44%), silver (-1.80%), copper (-2.21%), and oil (-3.05%) are all down.

Risk barometer Bitcoin is down 1.12% to $83,674 and remains in bear market territory, down 23.5% from the top.

Stocks

The Trump "Liberation Day" has sent stocks reeling overnight, with the DJIA off over 1,200 points and the S&P 500 down 200. I was rather shocked to learn that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was quoted as saying that "the tariffs have little to do with the stock market sell-off" when there isn't a newspaper article or financial blog that doesn't lay the blame for the crash directly on the tariffs.

Markets have rallied in the past two sessions as institutional money flow usually enters the fray at the end of the month and during the first few sessions. That has taken the RSI out of oversold status up to the 45 level, but with stocks in full overnight retreat, I am looking for a retest of the lows around $546 for the SPY:US and a move below 30 for the RSI. IF we can find support at the retest, then there is a reasonable chance for a rally. However, simply being in an oversold

condition does not ensure a bounce, and it surely does not prevent the February top at $613.23 from being THE top. Bear markets always arrive like a thief in the night, with most of the valuables seen as "missing" only after you awake in the morning. That is what this market feels like after sixteen years of babysitting by the Fed, and the White House has suddenly reversed from benevolent overseers to vindictive dictators.

Scott Bessent says that the markets are not being affected negatively by the tariff wars. . . 

There is an uptrend line going back to the COVID crash lows in 2020 that sits at around $525 for the SPY:US, which is the last line of defense for this market, in my opinion. If it takes out $525, then a band of support around the October 2023 lows at $400 could mark the bottom, but as the chart below would suggest, it could be as low as the $350 level, which would be a range of 34%-42% declines off the February peak. It would also represent a typical bear market — one which we have not had since the 2007-2008 Great Financial Bailout.

Watch for the retest of the lows around $546 first before doing anything drastic. Thus far, this is a normal "correction" (> 10% decline) and has to be treated as a temporary condition unless those levels mentioned above are violated.

Metals

I find it hilarious that the gold bugs are all laughing hysterically at the stockroaches who are all gnashing and gnarling their teeth over "Markets in Turmoil," which is what we have yet to see on the bottom of the CNBC screen that always marks the bottom for every correction since 2002. To their horrifying surprise, gold is due to correct because it is overbought on every chart I follow — daily, weekly, and monthly — and with the liquidity squeeze being exerted by the correction in equities, gold is particularly vulnerable on a near-term basis. Also impeding the movement of the entire PM complex is silver, which has yet to close on a 2-day basis above that $35.07 peak of last May.

The new reaction high is now $35.265, which was the intraday peak back on March 28, but it did not hold for more than a sip of coffee and then plummeted back down to a low of $34.50. It keeps banging into the resistance zone and getting rejected, and that is a classic non-confirmation of the move in gold and the miners. While I still see $38-45 as a target, the longer it takes to happen, the less likely it becomes.

Copper is correcting sharply this morning and has knifed down through my $4.95 support level to a low of $4.82 in the overnight session. It has bounced back to $4.92 as this is being written but these tariff wars have caused the "risk-off" sentiment to engulf everything as a mad scramble for liquidity ensues. We see this behavior all the time now because these funds are addicted to the extreme leverage that can enhance returns in bull markets but also vapourize those same players when things go south.

The bull case for copper will remain intact due to the fundamentally positive outlook for demand and the strikingly negative outlook for new supply chains. It does not mean that price cannot correct, but the 2025-2026 outlook remains powerfully bullish. Also, a factor is the breakdown in the U.S. dollar index. It certainly appears as though the much-vaunted "dollar milkshake theory" being trumpeted by USD bulls the world over has been shelved by the negative impact of the Trump Tariffs. If the dollar continues to melt away, the inverse correlation to the metals will be ultimately bullish for all hard assets, which rhymes nicely with the Stagflation 70s where paper assets like stocks and bonds went nowhere and commodities enjoyed a decade-long bull move. The transition from paper to hard assets will create havoc among the major asset allocators but once the transition is made, a serious revaluation in the mining stocks should occur.

Juniors

There has been a lot of whining and wailing about the failure of Fitzroy Minerals Inc. (FTZ:TSX.V; FTZFF:OTCQB) to respond appropriately to the spectacular drill results at Caballos, but realizing that it is still ahead 64.71% YTD despite tremendous seasonal pressure on the junior resource issues, I would say that it is in very good shape on a relative basis. Fully-funded on all projects and with CAD $10 million in warrant money, the bulk of which is in-the-money along with a major new discovery under their belts, this company is going to be generating a boatload of drilling news, and from what I am hearing, there are some very large "eyes" on Caballos after one drill hole.

Near-term, I see $.25 as a logical point to add to holdings which intend to do this week IF it trades there. The rig will be returning to the property next week which means that there will be three active drill programs generating a ton of news.

It is one thing to be disappointed in the market's response to the drill hole which was truly spectacular but one should not lose sight of the bigger picture here. When markets settle down, FTZ/FTZFF will be front-and-centre as one if the top copper juniors on the planet with a great portfolio of projects and superb management team. Hang on to your positions for dear life and add where and when you are able.

As for the rest of the list, which includes Nevada-based junior Getchell Gold Corp. (GTCH:CSE; GGLDF:OTCQB), the company is actively pursuing a drill program for the Spring at Fondaway Canyon, and with the price of gold now threatening to punch through US$3,200, it shouldn't be long before the 2.317 million ounces gets revalued upwards. I still find it astonishing that the junior developers have yet to get any real love from the investment community and that the seniors included in the

GDX:US are trading a mere 9% higher than the 2024 lows when gold was under $2,500/ounce. If you had told me a year ago that gold would be pressing up against $3,200 in April 2025, I would have pegged the GDX:US at $80-100 instead of the $45.76 level at which it closed yesterday. I would have pegged GTCH/GGLDF at $1.25-1.50 or at least USD $150 per in-ground ounce. Gold miners are dirt cheap, still relative to gold and relative to the S&P500.

The rest of the juniors I hold are rated as "Hold" until these markets can find their footing but it is those that are fully-funded that are going to be the first to recover and you all know which they are.