With tariffs back on the agenda after US President Donald Trump’s latest easing of the imposts facing automakers, Amazon got a rebuke from the White House over reports that it was considering displaying the impact of the tariff regime on its ultracheap Haul site – a report the ecommerce giant was forced into downplaying.
Meanwhile, Wall Street extended its rally on the latest tariff softening, which prompted carmaker General Motors to delay its briefing to investors until after the official announcement so it could comment on the changes, while US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick has a trade deal under his belt – he’s just not saying with whom.
And while the top end of town was feeling perkier, US households are feeling the pinch with the Conference Board’s latest consumer confidence sliding for a fifth month to its lowest level since May 2020 when the covid pandemic was ravaging the world.
Across the pond, European markets were buoyed as better-than-expected earnings from HSBC and Deutsche Bank gave investors some cheer, and Germany’s Rheinmetall surged as the continent’s biggest ammunition maker continues to face strong demand.
Another day
Stocks on Wall Street gained as investors welcomed Trump’s latest softening on tariffs, with the decision not to stack import levies on automakers. The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, following a strong showing across the Atlantic where the UK’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.6% and German’s DAX 30 gained 0.7%.
HSBC and Deutsche Bank led a rally among European bankers after reporting better than expected earnings, while Rheinmetall surged 8.6% after reporting a 46% jump in first-quarter sales as the ammunition maker benefited from growing defence spending across the continent.
Meanwhile, Amazon was whipped around in the trading session after it was forced to play down a report that it considered publishing the impact of tariffs on its low-cost Haul website, attracting a rebuke from the White House describing it as a “hostile and political act”.
US automaker GM was down 0.8% after pulling its earnings guidance over the uncertain outlook in the new tariff environment and delayed a briefing for analysts until after the official announcement on import levies, so it could comment more fulsomely on the changes.
Deal or no deal
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said markets will gain clarity when the US starts announcing trade deals, and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said he’s completed one negotiation, but can’t name the other party until the nation’s prime minister and parliament ratify the deal.
Fears about tariffs weighed on US households with the latest Conference Board’s survey of consumer confidence sliding more than expected to its lowest level since May 2020. That comes ahead of US economic growth estimates that are expected to show a tepid pace of expansion in the March quarter.
“US economic releases unambiguously reinforced the growing theme of unfolding downside economic risks as data showed demand for labour is weakening and consumers are becoming increasingly cautious, particularly with respect to future purchases,” ANZ New Zealand economists said in a note. “Both are the result of higher tariffs and greatly elevated uncertainty, and both point to a slowing in economic activity.”
The kiwi dollar traded at 59.39 US cents at 7am in Auckland from 59.51 cents yesterday, while Australian futures are pointing to a 0.4% gain for the S&P/ASX 200 index today.
Local data scheduled today including ANZ’s local business confidence survey and Australian inflation figures.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Marques Thomas on Unsplash.
