|
Financial-Markets 07/09 15:29
Stocks closed higher on Wall Street as the Trump administration sought to
win more deals with global trading partners. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite rose
0.9%. Nvidia became the first public company to top $4 trillion in value. Merck
rose after announcing it would buy Verona Pharma, a U.K. company that focuses
on respiratory diseases. Copper prices eased after spiking a day earlier as
President Donald Trump said he would impose 50% tariffs on imports of the
metal. Treasury yields slipped in the bond market.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below.
U.S. stocks are higher in afternoon trading Wednesday as Wall Street weighs
the latest developments in the Trump administration's bid to win more deals
with global trading partners.
The S&P 500 was up 0.5%, coming off a slight loss a day earlier. The
benchmark index remains near the record it set last week after a
better-than-expected U.S. jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 179 points, or 0.4%, as of 2:52 p.m.
Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% higher.
Gains in technology and communication services stocks helped drive the
market higher, outweighing declines in energy and other sectors.
Nvidia rose 1.7%. The chipmaker became the first public company to top $4
trillion in value as its share price briefly topped $164 each in the early
going. Shares in the AI boom poster child were going for around $14 per share
at the start of 2023.
Elsewhere among Big Tech stocks, Microsoft was up 1.2%, Meta rose 2.1% and
Google parent Alphabet added 1.2%.
Amazon rose 1.5% a day after the online retail giant kicked off Prime Day,
extending it for the first time to four days.
In bond market trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury slid to 4.34% from
4.40% late Tuesday.
Wall Street has been focused this week on President Donald Trump's renewed
push to use threats of higher tariffs on goods imported into the U.S. in hopes
of securing new trade agreements with countries around the globe.
Wednesday was initially set as a deadline by Trump for countries to make
deals with the U.S. or face heavy increases in tariffs. But with just two trade
deals announced since April, one with the United Kingdom and one with Vietnam,
the window for negotiations has been extended to Aug. 1.
This latest phase in the White House's trade war heightens the threat of
potentially more severe tariffs that's been hanging over the global economy.
Higher taxes on imported goods could hinder economic growth, if not increase
recession risks.
On Tuesday, Trump said he would be announcing tariffs on pharmaceutical
drugs at a "very, very high rate, like 200%." He also said he would sign an
executive order placing a 50% tariff on copper imports, matching the rates
charged on steel and aluminum.
Copper prices eased Wednesday after spiking a day earlier. Shares in mining
company Freeport-McMoRan were down 2%.
Financial markets swooned from day-to-day for weeks after the White House
rolled out its proposed tariff hikes in the spring. With the new batch of U.S.
taxes on imports not set to kick in until next month, that gives Wall Street a
breather just as the next corporate earnings season is set to begin.
"I think most people are tired of tariff news and they're starting to
realize it just doesn't matter much," said Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure
Capital Advisors. "We're pretty bullish about earnings. I think the rest of the
market is too."
Wall Street analysts predict that companies in the S&P 500 will deliver a
combined 5% annual growth in second-quarter earnings, according to FactSet.
That would mark the lowest growth rate for the index since the fourth quarter
of 2023.
Delta Air Lines kicks off earnings season on Thursday, with most analysts
expecting the airline's second-quarter profit to decline from a year ago. Delta
and other major U.S. carriers have trimmed their flight schedules and pulled
their forecasts this year as consumers pull back on travel and other
nonessential spending due to uncertainty about how Trump's tariffs will affect
their budgets.
Outside of trade talks, some corporate news surfaced Wednesday after a
typically quiet early summer stretch.
Pharmaceutical giant Merck is buying Verona Pharma, a U.K. company that
focuses on respiratory diseases, in an approximately $10 billion deal. If
approved by Verona shareholders and U.K. officials, Merck will get access to
Verona's chronic obstructive pulmonary disease medication Ohtuvayre. Verona
shares jumped more than 20% on the news, while Merck shares were up 3.1%.
In overseas markets, stock indexes closed broadly higher in Europe after a
mixed finish in Asia.
---------
itemid:b51a81fa0ad373b0c6c9280d9b397af8
|
|