ASX set to fall, Wall Street takes a breather; $A steady
The FT report, which said the Trump administration was eyeing a minimum tariff of between 15 per cent and 20 per cent in any deal with the European bloc, sent markets lower before they partly recovered.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 1.16 points to end at 6,296.20 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 9.33 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 20,894.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 142.40 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 44,342.09.
The Australian sharemarket is set to fall, with futures pointing to a drop of 49 points, or 0.6 per cent, at the open. The Australian dollar was fetching 65.20 US cents at 5.25am AEST.
Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have been pushed to repeated record highs in recent weeks, as investors showed increased ambivalence to Trump's tariff threats, and confidence these policies may not damage the US economy as severely as once feared.
Still, this week was seen as a proving ground for how Trump's economic policies are filtering into the wider economy.
A raft of economic data offered mixed signals, including robust retail sales, a rise in consumer inflation, and flat producer prices for June.
The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index increased this month, although consumers were still worried about future price pressures.
Earnings season kicked off this week, giving an opportunity to US corporations to showcase how tariffs were, or were not, affecting their businesses.
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