The USD/JPY exchange rate has crashed this week as investors move to the safety of the Japanese yen as global risks remain elevated and demand for Japanese bonds rise. The pair dropped to a low of 143, its lowest level since September last year. It has dropped by almost 10% from its highest point this year. 

Japanese yen as a safe haven currency

The USD/JPY pair plunged this year because of the ongoing rush to safe havens due to Donald Trump’s tariffs. 

Trump launched his Liberation Day tariffs last week, triggering a major sell-off of risk assets like stocks and cryptocurrencies. 

These fears eased slightly this week after he announced that he would pause tariffs to some countries, including Japan. He also seemed to prioritize Japan, one of the countries to call his administration. 

Analysts believe that Japan may avoid US tariffs if the government makes serious commitments to boost US purchases, especially natural gas and crude oil.

Experts believe that geopolitical risks remain elevated. For one, the US is still charging a 10% tariff on most imports and a 25% levy on steel, aluminum, and vehicles. Most importantly, the US has boosted tariffs on Chinese goods to 145%. 

Therefore, there is a likelihood that the US will sink into a recession this year if Trump does not remove the tariffs.

In such periods of geopolitical risks, investors usually move to safe havens, and the Japanese yen is one of the safest because of its vast international assets. 

The USD/JPY pair has also crashed because of the rising Japanese bond yields. Data shows that the ten-year yield jumped to 1.35% on Friday from this month’s low of 1.05%. These yields have risen from zero last year as the Bank of Japan has hiked interest rates. 

Analysts believe that the BoJ will pause its interest rate hikes and then hike again once the ongoing trade tensions cool. In a note, one analyst said:

“With the economy gaining momentum and political conditions relatively stable, JGBs (Japan Government Bonds) offer a solid investment case. We are starting to see that obviously JGBs had some value at about the 1.5% levels.”

USD/JPY technical analysis

USD/JPY chart by TradingView

The daily chart shows that the USD to JPY exchange rate has been in a strong downward trend in the past few months. This crash happened as the divergence between the Fed and the BOJ rose. In this, the BoJ has been hiking interest rates, as the Fed has paused. 

The pair has recently dropped below the key support at 148.71, its lowest level on December 3, and 146.58, its lowest swing in March. It invalidated the double-bottom pattern as it moved below the key support at 146.58. 

The pair also formed a death cross pattern as the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, Also, the Average Directional Index (ADX) has jumped to 25, a sign that the downtrend is gaining momentum. 

Therefore, the pair will likely continue falling as sellers target the next psychological point at 140, which is also its lowest level in September last year.

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Bitcoin price has crashed in the past few months as concerns about the coin and other risky assets continued. BTC was trading at $80,000, down by 25% from its highest point this year, and is hovering near its lowest level since November 11. This article explains why BTC price has crashed and why it may bounce back this year.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs are having outflows

The first main reason why the Bitcoin price has crashed is that demand from Wall Street investors has waned. 

Data by SoSoValue shows that all spot ETFs have been shedding assets this year, with the cumulative outflows reaching over $5 billion. They now have inflows worth over $35 billion, with the Blackrock’s IBIT having the most assets worth $45 billion. The other top spot Bitcoin ETFs are from Fidelity, Grayscale, Ark Invest, and Bitwise. Ideally, Bitcoin often does well when there is substantial demand from Wall Street investors. 

A likely reason for these outflows is that these investors don’t believe that Bitcoin is a safe haven when risks are rising. Instead, most of these investors have moved to gold, whose ETFs have seen substantial inflows in the past few months. The popular SPDR Gold ETF (GLD) now has almost $100 billion in assets, a figure that has continued to rise.

Correlation with stocks and other assets

Bitcoin price has crashed because of its correlation with stocks and other assets like bonds and commodities. American stocks have all plunged in the past few weeks, erasing trillions of dollars in value. 

The Dow Jones Index has crashed by over 12% from its highest point this year, while the blue-chip Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 have plunged by over 15%. 

This decline happened because of the recent decision by Donald Trump to levy tariffs on all countries. While he has walked back from his initial threat, he has maintained tariffs on all countries at 10%. He also maintained his auto tariffs and on aluminium and steel. Historically, Bitcoin has always had a close correlation with stocks and other assets.

Why Bitcoin price will rebound

There are a few reasons why the BTC price will rebound over time. First, this is not the first time that BYC has moved into a bear market. For example, it tumbled by over 33% from its highest point in March last year to its lowest level in August. It then staged a strong comeback shortly after that. 

Bitcoin price also plunged by over 77% in 2022, falling to a low of $15,217 as Terra and FTX exchanges imploded. 

The same has happened in the stock market before. All the top indices like the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 dropped sharply during the dot com bubble, the Global Financial Crisis, and the start of COVID and then recovered.

Bitcoin price has strong technicals

The other main reason why the BTC price will recover is that it has strong technicals on the weekly chart. This chart shows that it remains in an overall bullish trend and is above the 200-week moving average. 

Most importantly, it has formed a giant megaphone chart pattern, a popular bullish continuation sign. This pattern is made up of two ascending and diverging trendlines. In most cases, it often leads to a strong surge. If this happens, the coin will likely soar to a record high of $109,240 later this year. 

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XPeng stock price has pulled back this month as concerns about the rising trade issues remain. XPEV has dropped from the year-to-date high of $27.17 on March 10 to the current $17.97. It has moved to the lowest point since February 25. This article explains why the XPEV share price may surge soon.

XPeng stock price technical analysis

The weekly chart shows that the XPEV share price has pulled back in the past few weeks. It has dropped below the crucial support level at $23.55, the highest swing in July 2023. 

On the positive side, the stock has moved above the 50-week moving average, a sign that bulls are in control for now.

The most important catalyst for the stock is that it has formed a cup and handle pattern, a popular bullish continuation sign. This pattern has a horizontal line and a rounded bottom. It also has a consolidation as it forms the handle section. The recent decline is part of the formation of the handle section.

Therefore, the XPEV stock price will likely have a strong bullish breakout in the coming weeks or months. This view will be confirmed if the price rises above the key resistance level at $23.55. If this happens, the next watch target will be $40.67. 

This target is derived by measuring the distance from the cup’s upper side. It is also a notable level since it is along the 50% Fibonacci Retracement level. A drop below the 50-week moving average at 50-week moving average will invalidate the bullish view.

Read more: Here’s why the XPeng stock price may surge 140% in 2025

Why XPEV may bounce back

There are a few reasons why the XPeng stock price may stage a strong comeback. First, XPeng and other Chinese EV companies will likely not be affected by the ongoing trade war between the US and China. That’s because Xpeng does little business in the US, and has established itself as a key player in the Chinese market.

Second, this trade war may force Beijing to allocate more stimulus cash to the economy. Such a move will likely offset the potential economic weakness in the country. Beijing is mostly focusing on high-tech industries like in the electric vehicle sector.

Third, XPeng’s business is growing as the number of stores in the country rise. The most recent numbers showed that it had 690 stores in China, a figure that has continued rising. It has also grown the number of its self-operated charging networks. 

These initiatives have recently helped to push its revenues substantially higher. Its total revenue rose by 52% in Q4 to $2.21 billion, led by its vehicle sales, which made $2.0 billion. 

Most importantly, Xpeng’s business has grown in line with its gross margins have risen to 14.4%. This means that its gross margin figure is approaching Tesla’s, which stands at 17%.

Further, analysts are optimistic about XPeng stock, with the average revenue growth for the current quarter being 15 billion yuan, a 129% increase from the same period last year. Its annual revenue will jump by 95% this year to 80 billion yuan, followed by 108 billion yuan in 2025.

XPeng has other catalysts, including the upcoming launch of its flying car this year or in 2026. This means that it may become one of the biggest players in the eVTOL space.

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The Accenture stock price has crashed in the past few weeks as concerns about its US government contracts rose. The ACN share price dropped to $285 on Thursday, down by almost 30% from its highest level this year. It is now hovering at its lowest level since June 2024, leading to a $71 billion wipeout as its market cap crashed.

Accenture and IT consultants are losing contracts

The main reason why the Accenture stock price has imploded this year is that it is suffering from Elon Musk’s DOGE Effect. On this, the company and other IT consultants are seeing their government contracts disappear. 

Just this week, the government slashed a $4 billion IT contract awarded to Deloitte, Accenture, and Booz Allen Hamilton. In his statement, Secretary Pete Hegseg said that the contract was non-essential and that it would be done by the employees. 

The DoD is not the only government agency that has slashed contracts with Accenture. The Department of Health has also slashed some contracts with the company. 

In a recent report by the FT, the federal government has threatened to cut contracts worth hundreds of billions of contracts as these companies made “insulting” proposals. This comes as the government asked the 10 largest firms to come up with ideas to save money.

The Trump administration is pressing on with large cost cuts as it advances a $4.5 trillion tax cut package that passed the House of Representatives this week. He hopes to cut over $2 trillion in costs, with consulting companies providing a low-hanging fruit. 

ACN warns on government contracts

Accenture has warned that the DOGE effect will have an impact on its business since it generates billions of dollars annually. In its statement, the firm said that the its federal business represents about 8% of its business, with 16% coming from the Americas. The CEO said:

“Based on our significant experience across federal and commercial clients, we see major opportunities over time for us to help consolidate, modernize, and reinvent the federal government to drive a whole new level of efficiency.”

The ongoing trade war could also impact the company. In periods of high volatility, companies often start to cut costs, starting from marketing and then to procurement, including IT consulting. 

Therefore, analysts believe that the company may struggle to achieve its targets, which the management maintained. Analysts expect its results to show that its revenue rose by 4.85% in the last quarter to $17.27 billion. That will translate to an annual figure of $68.6 billion, a 5.8% annual increase. 

Still, analysts believe that Accenture stock price is cheap, and that it will ultimately surge to $361, up from the current $285. They expect that the current crisis will be brief and that the management will ultimately pivot to other areas.

Accenture stock price analysis

The weekly chart shows that the Accenture share price has collapsed from a high of $395 to the current $285. It has plunged below the 50-week moving average and the lower side of the ascending channel shown in green. That is a sign that bears have prevailed for now. 

Also, the MACD and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) have all plunged in the past few monts and are nearing the oversold level. Therefore, the next target to watch will be at $233, its lowest swing in March 2023, which is about 18% below the current level. 

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Renault stock price has pulled back in the past few weeks as concerns about Donald Trump’s trade war have escalated. It retreated to a low of €42 on Friday, down by 22% from its highest point this year. Still, it has held much better than other European rivals like Porsche, BMW, and Volkswagen. 

Why Renault is doing better

Donald Trump has roiled the auto industry this year by imposing a 25% general tariff on all vehicles imported to the US. These tariffs also apply to parts, meaning that even local American manufacturers will be impacted. 

The levies have hurt most European automakers selling thousands of US vehicles each year. Porsche has been the most affected because it manufactures all its vehicles in Europe, and makes most of its money in the US. 

Renault, on the other hand, is more insulated from the current crisis because it has a limited exposure to the US. It sold over 2.26 million vehicles last year, most of which went to European countries like France, Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom. 

The rest of the sales went to markets like Morocco and those in the Latin American region. As such, its business will be insulated from the ongoing trade war. However, the broader slowdown in the automobile industry could have a profound impact. 

Renault is in this state because of Luca de Meo, who became CEO and embarked on a path to change the company’s business. He slashed costs and also exited some of its most unprofitable markets.

Growth is continuing

The most recent results showed that Renault’s business was doing well as it reported record profitability. Its annual revenue rose by 7.4% in 2024 to over €56.2 billion, a trend that the management hopes will continue. 

Its net income jumped to €2.8 billion, although this was impacted by its Nissan stake. Renault’s free cash flow also jumped to €2.9 billion. 

The management believes that it has more room to grow, especially as it increases its presence in the EV industry. It has now become the second-biggest hybrid vehicle company in the region after Volkswagen. 

Still, there are a few concerns about the company. First, there are signs that the EV ambitions will be disrupted by Chinese brands like BYD and XPeng that are growing their market share in key countries. These companies will likely become giant names in the European markets over time. 

The other issue is that the company is relatively overvalued as it trades at 16x forward sales, higher than other automakers. 

Further, it is still in an alliance with Nissan, the embattled Japanese company. Nissan recently terminated a deal to be acquired by Honda Motor. 

Renault stock price analysis

Renault share price chart by TradingView

The weekly chart shows that the Renault share price faces another technical risk It has formed a double-top pattern at 52.95 euros, and whose neckline is at 35.77 euros. The stock is now targeting that neckline and is hovering slightly above the ascending trendline that connects the lowest swings since 2022. 

Therefore, a move below that trendline will raise the odds of it moving to the key support at 35.77. A drop below that level risks the stock dropping to the 23.6% retracement level at 29 euros, which is about 31% below the current level. The bearish outlook will be invalidated if it rises above the resistance at 52.95 euros.

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