US: Wall Street opens higher as US-Japan trade deal lifts sentiment
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 158.7 points, or 0.36 per cent, at the open to 44,661.12. The S&P 500 rose 17.3 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 6,326.9, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 73.8 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 20,966.467. REUTERS
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Straits Times
14 minutes ago
- Straits Times
US stocks rise as Apple surges
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Traders working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, in New York City, on Aug 6. NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks rose on Aug 6 with Apple and most other large tech companies rallying as markets largely shrugged off US President Donald Trump's latest tariff hikes. Apple piled on more than 5 per cent after White House officials said the tech giant plans an additional US$100 billion (S$129 billion) in capital spending in the United States. Amazon and Google parent Alphabet were among the other large tech names that also rose. 'By standing up and publicly announcing a domestic investment with President Trump, it reduces the likelihood of Trump imposing new tariff burdens on Apple,' said FHN Financial's Chris Low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.2 per cent at 44,193.12. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.7 per cent to 6,345.06, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.2 per cent to 21,169.42, less than 10 points from an all-time record. Mr Trump ordered an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods. The levy, which is expected to come into force in three weeks, is due to New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil. A new wave of Trump tariffs is due to take effect on Aug 7 on dozens of other economies. But the Aug 6 gains suggest investors are becoming more inured to the levies. 'This is a market that's fuelled by enthusiasm,' said Mr Jack Ablin, of Cresset Capital Management. 'Nothing has blown up yet. Perhaps the impact of tariffs won't be as great as investors originally feared.' Among individual companies, Disney fell 2.7 per cent as it reported around a doubling of profits to US$5.3 billion and announced a series of new deals to boost its upcoming ESPN streaming venture. But McDonald's jumped 3 per cent as it reported an 11 per cent rise in profits to US$2.3 billion. While the fast food giant returned to sales growth at US stores, it warned that low-income consumers were cutting back amid financial pressures. AFP
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
'I won't humiliate myself': Brazil's president sees no point in tariff talks with Trump
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva poses for a picture after an interview with Reuters at the Alvorada Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, August 6, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado BRASILIA - As U.S. tariffs on Brazilian goods jumped to 50% on Wednesday, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told Reuters in an interview that he saw no room for direct talks now with U.S. President Donald Trump that would likely be a "humiliation." Brazil is not about to announce reciprocal tariffs, he said. Nor will his government give up on cabinet-level talks. But Lula himself is in no rush to ring the White House. "The day my intuition says Trump is ready to talk, I won't hesitate to call him," Lula said in an interview from his presidential residence in Brasilia. "But today my intuition says he doesn't want to talk. And I won't humiliate myself." Despite Brazil's exports facing one of the highest tariffs imposed by Trump, the new U.S. trade barriers look unlikely to derail Latin America's largest economy, giving Lula more room to stand his ground against Trump than most Western leaders. Lula described U.S.-Brazil relations at a 200-year nadir after Trump tied the new tariff to his demands for an end to the prosecution of right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is standing trial for plotting to overturn the 2022 election. The president said Brazil's Supreme Court, which is hearing the case against Bolsonaro, "does not care what Trump says and it should not," adding that Bolsonaro should face another trial for provoking Trump's intervention, calling the right-wing former president a "traitor to the homeland." "We had already pardoned the U.S. intervention in the 1964 coup," said Lula, who got his political start as a union leader protesting against the military government that followed a U.S.-backed ouster of a democratically elected president. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore MRT track issue causes 5-hour delay; Jeffrey Siow says 'we can and will do better' Singapore ST Explains: What is a track point fault and why does it cause lengthy train disruptions? Singapore Three people taken to hospital after fire in Punggol executive condominium Singapore Elderly man found dead in SingPost Centre stairwell could have been in confused state: Coroner Singapore 81 primary schools to hold ballot for Phase 2C of Primary 1 registration Singapore S'pore and Indonesia have discussed jointly developing military training facilities: Chan Chun Sing Singapore Two workers died after being hit by flying gas cylinders in separate incidents in 2025 Sport Young Lions and distance runner Soh Rui Yong left out of SEA Games contingent "But this now is not a small intervention. It's the president of the United States thinking he can dictate rules for a sovereign country like Brazil. It's unacceptable." The Brazilian president said he had no personal issues with Trump, adding that they could meet at the United Nations next month or U.N. climate talks in November. But he noted Trump's track record of dressing down White House guests such as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. "What Trump did with Zelenskiy was humiliation. That's not normal. What Trump did with Ramaphosa was humiliation," Lula said. "One president can't be humiliating another. I respect everyone and I demand respect." Lula said his ministers were struggling to open talks with U.S. peers, so his government was focused on domestic measures to cushion the economic blow of U.S. tariffs, while maintaining "fiscal responsibility." He also said he was planning to call leaders from the BRICS group of developing nations, starting with India and China, to discuss the possibility of a joint response to U.S. tariffs. Lula also described plans to create a new national policy for Brazil's strategic mineral resources, treating them as a matter of "national sovereignty" to break with a history of mining exports that added little value in Brazil. REUTERS
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Lula plans new 'national sovereignty' policy for strategic minerals
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Alvorada Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, August 6, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado BRASILIA - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told Reuters on Wednesday of his plans for a new national policy treating strategic minerals as a matter of "national sovereignty" in order to avoid exporting minerals without adding value locally. "We won't allow what happened in the last century to happen again, where Brazil exports raw minerals and then buys products with very high added value," the president, known as Lula, said in the interview. "We want to add value in Brazil." Lula's comments came as a new 50% tariff hit U.S. imports from Brazil amid a political spat between the two countries linked to an investigation against the South American country's former president, Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro, under house arrest since late Monday, is standing trial on charges of plotting a coup to overturn his 2022 electoral defeat. Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing. U.S. President Donald Trump, seen as a Bolsonaro ally, has decried what he calls persecution of Brazil's former leader. Trump has long sought to secure U.S. supplies of critical minerals, complaining of China's near-total control of the industry and striking deals with Ukraine to secure critical minerals in exchange for defense help. Currently, Brazil lacks a complete mapping of its mineral wealth, Lula said, adding that his government would start this process by setting up the national council on mineral materials and standards. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore MRT track issue causes 5-hour delay; Jeffrey Siow says 'we can and will do better' Singapore ST Explains: What is a track point fault and why does it cause lengthy train disruptions? Singapore Three people taken to hospital after fire in Punggol executive condominium Singapore Elderly man found dead in SingPost Centre stairwell could have been in confused state: Coroner Singapore 81 primary schools to hold ballot for Phase 2C of Primary 1 registration Singapore S'pore and Indonesia have discussed jointly developing military training facilities: Chan Chun Sing Singapore Two workers died after being hit by flying gas cylinders in separate incidents in 2025 Sport Young Lions and distance runner Soh Rui Yong left out of SEA Games contingent The council will safeguard Brazil's control of its mineral wealth, allowing the country to become a global leader in the energy transition, Lula said, adding that businesses will not face difficulties following the council's creation. "Few countries in the world have the opportunity that Brazil has in this area," Lula said. REUTERS
