Donald Trump will be greeted by a trader on December 12, 2024 while walking down the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Alex Brandon | AP
Stock futures were low on Wednesday as investors weighed news of 25% tariffs targeting foreign cars.
Futures linked to Dow Jones Industrial Average It fell 120 points or 0.2%. S&P 500 Futures 0.3% slipped Nasdaq 100 futures It was 0.4% lower.
Trump previously suggested that he would move to implement car rates before the April 2nd date of the mutual tariffs that the president labeled “liberation date.” The president has discussed imposition of obligations on countries that have US import duties since beginning his second term in January. Trump said Wednesday that his retaliatory tariffs will be permanent throughout his second term.
Stocks General Motors Following Trump’s comments, the company has rebounded 7% in an extended transaction, Ford Stock was 5% lower. Tesla The stock price rose by about 1%.
The president said there was “a very strong police force” both in where the car parts came from and where the finished production would occur.
“If parts are made in the US and the cars aren’t, those parts will not be taxed or customs,” Trump added.
The stock fell its legs and reached a session low following news from the White House on Wednesday that Trump would announce his imported car mandate later that day.
The news already shows signs of weakness as investors are already worried about how Trump’s retaliatory tariffs will affect the wider US economy. Consumer trust, for example, hit its 12-year low in March, the latest indication of broader pessimism in the economy. The board’s measures follow an equally weak reading from the University of Michigan survey of consumers in March.
“Today, despite the recent stock recovery, volatility reminds us that policy uncertainty remains,” said Daniel Skelly, head of Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management Market Research and Strategy Team. “In addition, the tariff deadline next week is likely to be a starting point for negotiations than conclusions, so the market could struggle to recover on a higher row.”
This week, stocks are clinging to small profits. The S&P 500 is engraved at about 1% along with the Nasdaq composite. The Dow, which has 30 stocks, has so far won 1.1% this week.
Economically, investors monitor fresh unemployment claims data on Thursday, followed by March readings of the Personal Consumption Expense Price Index on Friday. PCE is the Federal Reserve’s priority gauge of inflation.
