US stocks hit more records following US-Japan trade deal
Stocks jumped even more in Tokyo, where the Nikkei 225 rallied 3.5% after President Donald Trump announced a trade framework that would place a 15% tax on imports coming from Japan. That's lower than the 25% rate that Trump had earlier said would kick in on Aug. 1. "It's a sign of the times that markets would cheer 15% tariffs,' said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.
"A year ago, that level of tariffs would be shocking. Today, we breathe a sigh of relief.' Trump has proposed stiff taxes on imports from around the world, which carry the double-edged risk of driving up inflation for US households while slowing the economy. But many of Trump's tariffs are currently on pause, giving time to reach deals with other countries that could lower the tax rates.
Trump also announced a trade agreement with the Philippines on Tuesday. So far, the US economy has seemed to hold up OK despite the pressures on it. And tariffs already in place may be having less of an effect than expected, at least when it comes to the prices that US households are paying at the moment.
"The main lesson about tariffs so far is that passthrough to consumer prices is tracking somewhat lower than in 2019,' according to Goldman Sachs economist David Mericle. Tariffs are certainly having an effect, to be sure, as big US companies across industries have been showing through their profit updates in recent days.
Hasbro took a $1 billion, non-cash hit to its results for the spring to write down the value of some of its assets following a review triggered by the implementation of tariffs. It said tariffs have had no impact yet on how much profit it's making from each $1 of its sales, but it expects to see costs ramp during the current quarter.
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Arab Times
an hour ago
- Arab Times
World shares advance after EU strikes trade deal with Trump
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Kuwait Times
13 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Battling tariffs is no trivial pursuit for US games retailer
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Kuwait Times
13 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Fed poised to hold off on rate cuts, defying Trump
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