Sell America is the new trade on Wall Street

A NEW investment thesis has spread through global markets at the start of 2026, as trading strategies long built on the primacy of the United States now opt for a new approach: Sell America.

The sentiment started to take hold in financial circles after the shock of sky-high tariffs sent stocks and bonds into a tailspin last April, but it has taken off recently as the Trump administration has pursued policies like attacks on the Federal Reserve’s independence and threats of a new trade war with Europe that are worrying investors anew.

The “ex-America” trade was a strikingly common theme at New York Life Investments’ global investment meeting in January, said Lauren Goodwin, an economist at the company.

Goodwin and other investors stress that the sell America trade is more about hedging existing US exposure, diversifying into other assets and deciding where to invest new money, rather than an attempt to leave the country entirely.

But over the past month, that trading has fuelled the sliding value of the dollar, stalled the stock market’s rise, increased government borrowing costs and sent the prices for precious metals like gold soaring.

The nomination of Kevin Warsh to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve and a last-minute deal to fund most of the government helped the dollar on Friday (Jan 30). Yet the currency still ended January 1.2 per cent lower after its second straight week of losses, when measured against a basket of currencies including the euro, British pound and Japanese yen. By that same measure, the dollar is 10 per cent lower over the past 12 months, a huge drop for the typically strong currency.

Gold and silver, which remain safe haven investments in times of turmoil, both hit record highs recently. And even after a sharp drop on Friday, the precious metals are still up 24 and 19 per cent for January, with the price of gold 75 per cent higher over the past 12 months.

After a relentless rally, the US stock market has plateaued since the start of the year and started to slide when measured in other currencies.

“It’s been almost a paradigm shift in the dollar,” said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial. For international investors, the change is particularly acute. “US equities were working as the dollar moved higher,” he said. “That’s unravelled.” NYTIMES