Wall Street ends lower as tariffs sour sentiment

Perth Now

4 days ago

Wall Street has ended lower, with Meta Platforms weighing on the S&P 500 after President Donald Trump intensified his tariff offensive against Canada, amplifying the uncertainty swirling around US trade policy.
Trump late on Thursday ramped up his tariff assault on Canada, saying the US would impose a 35 per cent tariff on imports next month and planned to impose blanket tariffs of 15 per cent or 20 per cent on most other trading partners.
The S&P 500 eased from a record high the day before, with caution prevailing after Trump on Thursday imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Brazil and as the European Union braced for a possible letter from Trump with details on fresh tariffs.
"The increased rhetoric around tariffs, what we've seen this week regarding Brazil and Canada, is certainly elevating the anxiety level," Michael James, an equity sales trader at Rosenblatt Securities, said.
"People had become a little more accustomed to the lack of negative tariff headlines, and we've kind of been reminded that the tariff picture is still there."
Shares of Nvidia rose 0.5 per cent to a record high, lifting its stock market value to $US4.02 trillion ($A6.10 trillion).
Drone makers AeroVironment and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions jumped about 11 per cent after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a surge in drone production and deployment.
The S&P 500 declined 0.33 per cent to end the session at 6,259.75 points, the Nasdaq declined 0.22 per cent to 20,585.53 points and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.63 per cent to 44,371.51 points.
Volume on US exchanges was relatively light, with 15.4 billion shares traded, compared with an average of 18.3 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.
For the week, the S&P 500 dipped 0.3 per cent, the Dow lost about 1.0 per cent and the Nasdaq slipped 0.1 per cent.
The S&P 500 is up about 6.0 per cent so far in 2025.
Investors will soon turn their attention to second-quarter reporting season, with a focus on how Trump's on-again off-again tariffs are affecting major US companies.
Among the big names reporting results next week are JPMorgan, Netflix and Johnson & Johnson.
Analysts on average expect S&P 500 companies to increase their second-quarter earnings by 5.7 per cent, year over year, with big gains from tech companies and declining profits in energy, consumer staples and consumer discretionary, according to LSEG I/B/E/S.
"We believe expectations are a bit low for S&P 500 earnings. Much of the second quarter was marked with tariff and trade issues and that may have caused some dislocations in earnings," said Michael Landsberg, chief investment officer, Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth Management.
Levi Strauss & Co jumped 11 per cent after the apparel seller raised its annual revenue and profit forecasts and beat quarterly estimates.
Meta Platforms shares closed 1.3 per cent lower after Reuters reported that the company is very unlikely to offer more changes to its pay-or-consent model, increasing the risk of fresh European Union antitrust charges and hefty daily fines.
Kraft Heinz closed 2.5 per cent higher after the Wall Street Journal reported the company is preparing to break itself up as the packaged food maker grapples with persistent weakness in demand for its higher-priced brands.
Across the US stock market, declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by a 2.8-to-one ratio.
The S&P 500 posted 12 new highs and 4 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 58 new highs and 43 new lows.