GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks edge higher, gold soars with Trump tariffs in view

By Amanda Cooper, Chibuike Oguh

NEW YORK/LONDON, April 1 (Reuters) - Global shares edged higher in choppy trading on Tuesday, while safe-haven gold soared to a record peak as markets awaited details of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff plans.

Investors are bracing for Trump's so-called Liberation Day on Wednesday, when he has promised to unveil a massive reciprocal tariff plan.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said reciprocal tariffs on countries that impose duties on U.S. goods would take effect immediately after Trump announces them, while a 25% tariff on auto imports will take effect on Thursday.

An announcement is scheduled on Wednesday for 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT), Leavitt confirmed on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended higher after losing ground earlier in the session, with gains in consumer discretionary communication services, consumer staples and technology stocks offset by losses in healthcare and financial equities. The Dow finished a shade lower.

"In terms of the upcoming tariff announcement, we still don't know which countries they'll be imposed on and what rate. It's fair to say that the administration might not have the final plan ready as yet," Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 0.03% to 41,989.96, the S&P 500 .SPX rose 0.38% to 5,633.07 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC rose 0.87% to 17,449.89.

European stocks .STOXX rallied, recovering from the previous day's bout of profit-taking, particularly in assets that are highly vulnerable to U.S. tariffs.

The benchmark pan-European STOXX 600 index, which rose 5.1% in the first three months of the year, ended up 1%, with technology, industrial and financial stocks leading the way.

Uncertainty is running high. Various measures of stock, bond and currency volatility have risen sharply in the past few days, reflecting the challenge for investors of trading the unknown.

Gold XAU= eased after hitting a new record high for a fourth straight session, hitting $3,148.88 per ounce. It fell 0.15% to $3,118.25 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures GCcv1 settled 0.1% lower at $3,146.

Mark Malek, chief investment officer at SiebertNXT, said investors are not just faced with uncertainty from tariffs but they are also worried about the possibility of a looming economic slowdown given weakness in recent data.

Data from the Institute for Supply Management showed U.S. manufacturing contracted in March after growing for two straight months. A separate report from the Labor Department showed U.S. job openings fell in February.

"I can tell you anecdotally that the number of client calls that we've been taking lately has increased and it's not necessarily about tariffs but they are worried about the economy," Malek said. "They are losing confidence, and that's investor confidence - which is a tough thing to fight."

Demand for the safety of Treasuries sent yields lower, with benchmark 10-year note yields US10YT=RR falling 8 basis points to 4.165%. In Europe, the yield on benchmark German 10-year Bunds DE10YT=RR fell 0.3 basis point to 2.679%.

Investor caution toward U.S. assets has resulted in continued pressure on the dollar, which posted its worst first-quarter performance against a basket of currencies =USD in nine years this year, with a drop of nearly 4%.

The Japanese yen held firm, as did the Swiss franc, as traditional safe-haven assets drew demand.

The yen JPY=EBS strengthened 0.25% against the greenback to 149.57 per dollar. Against the Swiss franc CHF=EBS, the dollar weakened 0.07% to 0.884 franc. The euro EUR= was down 0.25% at $1.079.

The dollar index =USD, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.04%.

The Australian dollar AUD=D3 strengthened 0.48% versus the greenback to $0.6276. The RBA held rates at 4.1%, having just cut them by a quarter-point in February for the first time in over four years.

Bitcoin BTC= gained 3.15% to $85,033.03.

Oil prices edged lower as traders weighed reciprocal tariffs from Trump and his threats to impose secondary tariffs on Russian crude and attack Iran.

Brent futures LCOc1 settled 0.37% lower at $74.49 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 fell 0.39% to $71.20.