Wall St range-bound as caution sets in ahead of US-China talks
Trump said Beijing should open its market to the United States and that 80% tariffs on Chinese goods 'seems right.' The levies are currently at 145%.
Representatives from U.S. and China are scheduled to meet in Switzerland over the weekend to discuss tariffs, with investors hoping the talks will salve a bruising trade war that has raised concerns over global economic growth and left markets, companies and the Federal Reserve in wait-and-watch mode.
'The tariff, whether it's 140% or 80%, the number sounds like a difference, but if there's still a tariff of 80%, most people are not going to buy stuff,' said Michael Matousek, head trader at U.S. Global Investors.
Investors are likely de-risking their portfolios ahead of the meeting as it's unclear how long the trade talks could stretch on before any major outcome, Matousek added.
On Thursday, Wall Street's main indexes closed higher as investors cheered a trade deal struck between Britain and the U.S. - the first of its kind since Trump paused his initial tariffs last month.
Reuters reported India had offered to slash its tariff gap with the U.S. to less than 4% from nearly 13% now, in exchange for an exemption from Trump's tariffs, according to sources.
Wall St rises after US-Britain trade deal
At 11:21 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 127.16 points, or 0.31%, to 41,241.29, the S&P 500 lost 5.14 points, or 0.09%, to 5,658.80 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.84 points, or 0.02%, to 17,925.30.
Energy, up 0.8%, led gains among the 11 S&P 500 sectors. Funds tracking consumer discretionary stocks outperformed in the week ended Wednesday, while financials were hit the most, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Most megacap and growth stocks were lower on the day, but Tesla outperformed with a 5.6% rise.
All three indexes are set for marginal declines this week, but are hovering near levels seen in late March, having recouped all the losses incurred in the aftermath of Trump's 'Liberation day' tariff announcement last month.
Days after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, Fed policymakers pointed to increasing economic risks from Trump's tariffs, echoing comments from Chair Jerome Powell at the meeting earlier this week.
With the peak of the earnings season behind, about 76% of S&P 500 companies have surpassed profit expectations. But many have withdrawn their annual forecasts citing an uncertain trade environment.
Expedia slipped 7.7% after the online travel platform missed quarterly revenue estimates.
Trade Desk shares jumped about 22% after the ad firm posted first-quarter revenue and profit above Wall Street estimates. Insulin delivery device maker Insulet jumped 18.5% after beating estimates for first-quarter profit on Thursday
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.54-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.01-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 3 new 52-week highs and one new low while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 39 new highs and 58 new lows.
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Business Recorder
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Business Recorder
42 minutes ago
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How Pakistan shot down India's cutting-edge fighter using Chinese gear
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But Reuters interviews with two Indian officials and three of their Pakistani counterparts found that the performance of the Rafale wasn't the key problem: Central to its downing was an Indian intelligence failure concerning the range of the China-made PL-15 missile fired by the J-10 fighter. China and Pakistan are the only countries to operate both J-10s, known as Vigorous Dragons, and PL-15s. The faulty intelligence gave the Rafale pilots a false sense of confidence they were out of Pakistani firing distance, which they believed was only around 150 km, the Indian officials said, referring to the widely cited range of PL-15's export variant. India signs $7.4 billion deal to buy 26 Rafale fighter jets 'We ambushed them,' the PAF official said, adding that Islamabad conducted an electronic warfare assault on Delhi's systems in an attempt to confuse Indian pilots. Indian officials dispute the effectiveness of those efforts. 'The Indians were not expecting to be shot at,' said Justin Bronk, air warfare expert at London's Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think-tank. 'And the PL-15 is clearly very capable at long range.' The PL-15 that hit the Rafale was fired from around 200km (124.27 mi) away, according to Pakistani officials, and even farther according to Indian officials. That would make it among the longest-range air-to-air strikes recorded. India's defense and foreign ministries did not return requests for comment about the intelligence mistakes. Delhi hasn't acknowledged a Rafale being shot down, but France's air chief told reporters in June that he had seen evidence of the loss of that fighter and two other aircraft flown by India, including a Russian-made Sukhoi. A top Dassault executive also told French lawmakers that month that India had lost a Rafale in operations, though he didn't have specific details. After Pakistan downed Indian jets, Indonesia weighs purchase of China's J-10s Pakistan's military referred to past comments by a spokesperson who said that its professional preparedness and resolve was more important than the weaponry it had deployed. China's defense ministry did not respond to Reuters' questions. Dassault and UAC, the manufacturer of the Sukhoi, also did not return requests for comment. 'Situational awareness' Reuters spoke to eight Pakistani and two Indian officials to piece together an account of the aerial battle, which marked the start of four days of fighting between the two nuclear-armed neighbors that caused alarm in Washington. The officials all spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss national security matters. Not only did Islamabad have the element of surprise with its missiles' range, the Pakistani and Indian officials said, but it managed to more efficiently connect its military hardware to surveillance on the ground and in the air, providing it with a clearer picture of the battlefield. Such networks, known as 'kill chains,' have become a crucial element of modern warfare. Four Pakistani officials said they created a 'kill chain,' or a multi-domain operation, by linking air, land and space sensors. The network included a Pakistani-developed system, Data Link 17, which connected Chinese military hardware with other equipment, including a Swedish-made surveillance plane, two Pakistani officials said. The system allowed the J-10s flying closer to India to obtain radar feeds from the surveillance plane cruising further away, meaning the Chinese-made fighters could turn their radars off and fly undetected, according to experts. Pakistan's military did not respond to requests for comment on this point. Delhi is trying to set up a similar network, the Indian officials said, adding that their process was more complicated because the country sourced aircraft from a wide range of exporters. Retired U.K. Air Mshl. Greg Bagwell, now a fellow at RUSI, said the episode didn't conclusively prove the superiority of either Chinese or Western air assets but it showed the importance of having the right information and using it. 'The winner in this was the side that had the best situational awareness,' said Bagwell. Change in tactics After India in the early hours of May 7 struck targets in Pakistan that it called terrorist infrastructure, Sidhu ordered his squadrons to switch from defense to attack. Five PAF officials said India had deployed some 70 planes, which was more than they had expected and provided Islamabad's PL-15s with a target-rich environment. India has not said how many planes were used. The May 7 battle marked the first big air contest of the modern era in which weaponry is used to strike targets beyond visual range, said Bagwell, noting both India and Pakistan's planes remained well within their airspaces across the duration of the fight. Five Pakistani officials said an electronic assault on Indian sensors and communications systems reduced the situational awareness of the Rafale's pilots. The two Indian officials said the Rafales were not blinded during the skirmishes and that Indian satellites were not jammed. But they acknowledged that Pakistan appeared to have disrupted the Sukhoi, whose systems Delhi is now upgrading. Other Indian security officials have deflected questions away from the Rafale, a centerpiece of India's military modernization, to the orders given to the air force. India's defense attaché in Jakarta told a university seminar that Delhi had lost some aircraft 'only because of the constraint given by the political leadership to not attack (Pakistan's) military establishments and their air defenses.' India's chief of defense staff Gen. Anil Chauhan previously told Reuters that Delhi quickly 'rectified tactics' after the initial losses. After the May 7 air battle, India began targeting Pakistani military infrastructure and asserting its strength in the skies. Its Indian-made BrahMos supersonic cruise missile repeatedly sliced through Pakistan's air defenses, according to officials on both sides. On May 10, India said it struck at least nine air bases and radar sites in Pakistan. It also hit a surveillance plane parked in a hangar in southern Pakistan, according to Indian and Pakistani officials. A ceasefire was agreed later that day, after U.S. officials held talks with both sides. 'Live inputs' In the aftermath of the episode, India's deputy army chief Lt. Gen. Rahul Singh accused Pakistan of receiving 'live inputs' from China during the battles, implying radar and satellite feeds. He did not provide evidence and Islamabad denies the allegation. When asked at a July briefing about Beijing's military partnership with Pakistan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters the work was 'part of the normal cooperation between the two countries and does not target any third party.' Beijing's air chief Lt. Gen. Wang Gang visited Pakistan in July to discuss how Islamabad had used Chinese equipment to put together the 'kill chain' for the Rafale, two PAF officials said. China did not respond when asked about that interaction. The Pakistani military said in a statement in July that Wang had expressed 'keen interest in learning from PAF's battle-proven experience in Multi Domain Operations.'
Express Tribune
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- Express Tribune
India will continue to buy Russian oil, govt sources say
Listen to article India will continue purchasing Russian oil under long-term contracts despite US President Donald Trump's recent threats of additional penalties, two senior government sources said, emphasizing that existing accords cannot be canceled overnight. Trump last month posted on Truth Social that he would impose 100% tariffs on countries buying Russian oil unless Moscow reached a major peace deal with Ukraine, and on Friday told reporters he believed India had ceased its Russian oil imports. But Reuters reported this week that no formal directive has been issued to India's state refiners Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum and Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals to halt purchases, even as those companies paused new orders when Russian discounts narrowed to their lowest since 2022. 'These are long-term oil contracts,' one source said. 'It is not so simple to just stop buying overnight.' Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated that India assesses energy purchases based on market availability, pricing and global conditions, and noted that New Delhi's 'steady and time-tested partnership' with Russia stands on its own merits, independent of third-country pressures. Russia remained India's top crude supplier in January–June 2025, accounting for roughly 35% of imports about 1.75 million barrels per day, up 1% from the same period a year earlier followed by Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The pause by state refiners this week reflected market dynamics rather than policy changes, sources said. The European Union last month imposed sanctions on Nayara Energy, a major Russian-backed refinery operator in which Rosneft holds a majority stake. EU measures have delayed the discharge of three oil-product shipments chartered by Nayara, and led to the resignation of its chief executive, replaced by company veteran Sergey Denisov. White House officials did not immediately comment on India's position. Analysts say New Delhi's reliance on discounted Russian crude offers both economic benefits and geopolitical complications, as global markets await potential US penalty implementations.
