Wall Street inches up amid Trump EU trade remarks
Trump said the odds of a US-EU trade deal were "50-50" and suggested after a meeting with Fed Chair Jerome Powell that a rate cut might be on the horizon.
A spate of upbeat second-quarter earnings also supported Wall Street's record run.
In early trading on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 70.76 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 44,764.67 - creeping up towards its December 4 record high.
The S&P 500 added 10.70 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 6,374.05, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.87 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 21,059.83.
Expectations were rife that the European bloc would soon sign an agreement with Washington.
Meanwhile, US negotiations with South Korea gathered momentum ahead of the August 1 deadline set for most countries as they scrambled to avoid Trump's steep import levies.
A wave of trade agreements including pacts with Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines set all three major indexes on track for a strong weekly finish, if the gains hold.
Tariffs have had only a small impact on inflation and the economy has not shown many negative effects from shifts in trade policy, according to Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics.
Because of this, he said, even a slight increase in inflation would likely be enough to keep the Fed from cutting rates again.
Of the 168 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings as of Friday, 79.8 per cent beat analyst expectations, according to data compiled by LSEG.
However, there were a few setbacks during the week.
Heavyweights Tesla and General Motors stumbled and were on track for their steepest weekly declines in nearly two months if losses hold.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk warned of tougher quarters ahead amid shrinking US EV subsidies, while General Motors took a hit after absorbing a $US1.1-billion ($A1.7 billion) blow in its second-quarter earnings from Trump's tariffs.
Intel dropped 9.0 per cent after the chipmaker forecast steeper third-quarter losses than the Street expected and announced plans to slash jobs.
All eyes will be on the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting next week, with bets indicating that policymakers are likely to keep interest rates unchanged as they evaluate the impact of tariffs on inflation.
The central bank is under immense scrutiny from the White House, with President Trump leading a censure campaign against Chair Jerome Powell for not reducing borrowing costs, while often hinting that he would sack the top policymaker.
In a surprise move, Trump escalated the pressure by making a rare visit to the Fed headquarters on Thursday, where he criticised its $US2.5-billion ($A3.8 billion) renovation project.
According to CME's FedWatch tool, traders now see a nearly 61.8 per cent chance of a rate cut as soon as September.
Among other stocks, Newmont added 7.4 per cent after the gold miner surpassed Wall Street expectations for second-quarter profit.
Health insurer Centene posted a surprise quarterly loss, but its shares gained 3.0 per cent.
Paramount Global rose 2.1 per cent after US regulators approved its $US8.4 billion ($A12.8 billion) merger with Skydance Media.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
7NEWS
an hour ago
- 7NEWS
Jaguar Land Rover appoints Tata executive as new CEO
Come November 1 PB Balaji will become the first executive from parent company Tata Motors to lead Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). The automakers confirmed Mr Balaji will replace Adrian Mardell, who announced late last week he would retire by the end of the year. Mr Balaji has been chief financial officer at Tata Motors, and a JLR board member since 2017. Prior to that he held various senior financial executive roles around the world with food, drink, personal care and household products giant Hindustan Unilever before becoming its CFO in 2014. Although his listed career history is all within the financial sphere, he has a bachelor of mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, and a graduate diploma in management and finance from Indian Institute of Management. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. In a statement Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of Jaguar Land Rover, as well as the Tata Group, said the board had been doing a candidate search over the last few months and decided on Mr Balaji with Tata Motors for the 'past many years and is familiar with the Company, its strategy and has been working with the JLR leadership team'. This, he claims, will 'will ensure that we continue to accelerate our journey to Reimagine JLR'. Jaguar Land Rover was established in 2008 when Tata Motors bought Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford for US$2.2 billion. Along with Aston Martin, Lincoln and Volvo the British marques were part of the Premier Automotive Group established by Ford's Australian CEO Jacques Nasser in 1999. With losses piling up at many of the brands, then CEO Alan Mullaly began selling off Ford's collection of luxury brands. While Jaguar and Land Rover never consistently made money under Ford's ownership, the JLR has been profitable for 10 of its 16 as part of Tata Motors. Although it has swung back into the black under the leadership of departing CEO Adrian Mardell, the luxury automaker faces storm clouds on the horizon. Tariffs, which have seemingly been rising and falling on a daily basis in the US, caused the manufacturer to pause shipments to one of its more important export markets. While many countries are now slapped with a 25 per cent or higher tariff, there's now an agreement with the UK, which sees the first 100,000 cars per year from Britain taxed at just 10 per cent. A deal with the EU for a 10 per cent tariff is nearly complete, which will come as a relief to JLR as the Defender is produced in Slovakia. On top of this, Jaguar's new brand identity and design direction, as previewed by the Type 00 concept, has garnered plenty of attention and caused much gnashing of teeth on the internet. With three production cars set to launch from 2026, it remains to be seen whether the marque's relaunch will be successful, both critically and financially.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Jaguar Land Rover appoints Tata executive as new CEO
Come November 1 PB Balaji will become the first executive from parent company Tata Motors to lead Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). The automakers confirmed Mr Balaji will replace Adrian Mardell, who announced late last week he would retire by the end of the year. Mr Balaji has been chief financial officer at Tata Motors, and a JLR board member since 2017. Prior to that he held various senior financial executive roles around the world with food, drink, personal care and household products giant Hindustan Unilever before becoming its CFO in 2014. Although his listed career history is all within the financial sphere, he has a bachelor of mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, and a graduate diploma in management and finance from Indian Institute of Management. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. Supplied Credit: CarExpert In a statement Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of Jaguar Land Rover, as well as the Tata Group, said the board had been doing a candidate search over the last few months and decided on Mr Balaji with Tata Motors for the 'past many years and is familiar with the Company, its strategy and has been working with the JLR leadership team'. This, he claims, will 'will ensure that we continue to accelerate our journey to Reimagine JLR'. Jaguar Land Rover was established in 2008 when Tata Motors bought Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford for US$2.2 billion. Along with Aston Martin, Lincoln and Volvo the British marques were part of the Premier Automotive Group established by Ford's Australian CEO Jacques Nasser in 1999. With losses piling up at many of the brands, then CEO Alan Mullaly began selling off Ford's collection of luxury brands. Supplied Credit: CarExpert Supplied Credit: CarExpert While Jaguar and Land Rover never consistently made money under Ford's ownership, the JLR has been profitable for 10 of its 16 as part of Tata Motors. Although it has swung back into the black under the leadership of departing CEO Adrian Mardell, the luxury automaker faces storm clouds on the horizon. Tariffs, which have seemingly been rising and falling on a daily basis in the US, caused the manufacturer to pause shipments to one of its more important export markets. While many countries are now slapped with a 25 per cent or higher tariff, there's now an agreement with the UK, which sees the first 100,000 cars per year from Britain taxed at just 10 per cent. A deal with the EU for a 10 per cent tariff is nearly complete, which will come as a relief to JLR as the Defender is produced in Slovakia. On top of this, Jaguar's new brand identity and design direction, as previewed by the Type 00 concept, has garnered plenty of attention and caused much gnashing of teeth on the internet. With three production cars set to launch from 2026, it remains to be seen whether the marque's relaunch will be successful, both critically and financially. MORE: Everything Land Rover
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Markets live: Wall Street dragged lower as Trump tariffs hurt company profits, ASX to open steady
The Australian share market is on track to have a relatively subdued start to its day as investors await financial results from AMP, News Corp, REA Group and other companies. Overnight On Wall Street, major companies like Caterpillar revealed the impact of US President Donald Trump's tariff on their quarterly earnings. See how the trading day unfolds on our blog. Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice.
