Stocks have been all over the place since President Trump announced that he would impose a 25% steel tariff and 10% aluminum tariff on imports.
So it’s no surprise that on the day the President was going to sign his tariff order, traders were focused on tariffs once again.
Stocks opened slightly higher but were mostly flat throughout the day. But volatility picked up after an AP report said Canada and Mexico will initially be exempt from Trump’s tariff plans.
Then thirty minutes before the closing bell, President Trump held a press conference saying that other nations have an opportunity to join Canada and Mexico in the tariff exemption if they could justify the decision, saying he’s looking for “fairness.”
With talks of exemptions, traders were less concerned about a major trade war and the major indices finished near highs of the day.
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Here’s where the major indices ended the day:
- The S&P finished with a 0.5% gain. Up 12 points, the S&P ended at 2,739.
- The DOW ended 0.4% higher. Adding 94, the DOW closed at 24,895.
- The NASDAQ was up 0.4% With a 31 point gain, the NASDAQ finished at 7,428.
- Bitcoin was down 7.5%. Dropping $737, Bitcoin is trading at $9,104.
Crude Oil (CL) was lower for the 2nd day in a row. With a 1.5% loss, CL ended at $60.24 a barrel.
President Trump found an unlikely ally in Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, today. Although Musk doesn’t like import duties, he agrees that China isn’t playing fair. Musk says the 25% import duty China imposes on American cars compared to the 2.5% import duty that America imposes on Chinese cars makes competition difficult…like running the Olympics with “lead shoes.”
In earnings news, Costco (COST) was down 0.8% after worse than expected earnings. And Kroger (KR) was smacked with a 12.4% loss after disappointing guidance.
Tomorrow traders will focus on the Jobs Report. This includes ADP Non-Farm Employment Change, Average Hourly Earnings and the Unemployment Rate all at 8:30am ET.
Source: RockwellTrading by Markus Heitkoetter | Original Link