Stocks on Wall Street were mixed in the run-up to US President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging tariff regime, with a deal cut with South Korea and Mexico getting another reprieve, while healthcare companies were generally weaker after pharmaceutical companies were asked to cut their prices.
European markets were softer as some company earnings disappointed, with Ferrari and Anheuser-Busch InBev slumping as investors keep one eye on the upcoming tariff regime.
Microsoft hit the US$4 trillion market capitalisation mark and Meta Platforms surged 12% as investors welcomed strong results from the Big Tech companies, while Amazon and Apple are the next Magnificent 7 megastocks to report after the bell.
Meanwhile, software firm Figma soared more than 200% in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange in the US latest initial public offering, where there’s a renewed appetite for new listings.
New world order
US President Donald Trump was busy ahead of the August imposition of his wide-ranging tariff regime, cutting deals with South Korea, Cambodia and Thailand and granting Mexico another 90-day extension while negotiations continue. Aluminium tariffs remain a bone of contention in talks with Canada.
Trump will sign an executive order setting the tariff rates on Thursday in the US.
Meanwhile, the president wrote letters to 17 global pharmaceutical companies asking them to reduce their prices.
Healthcare stocks were broadly weaker on Wall Street, with UnitedHealth Group and Merck & Co leading the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower, which was down 0.3% in late trading.
Meanwhile, strong results from Microsoft and Meta buoyed the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which was up 0.2%. Microsoft climbed 4.1%, having joined Nvidia in crossing the US$4 trillion market cap level, while Meta surged 12%. Apple and Alphabet will report when trading closes.
Google-parent Alphabet fell 2.4% after a US appeals panel rejected the search engine giant’s bid to overturn a court order to revamp its app store as a result of its dispute with ‘Fortnite’ maker Epic Games.
Ebay surged 18% after the online marketplace’s earnings beat expectations, while Qualcomm sank 7.6% in spite of its growth in chip sales and online trading platform Robin Hood dipped after posting a 45% increase in June quarter sales.
New listing life
The New York Stock Exchange’s latest listing soared on debut, with software firm Figma climbing 222% from its offer price in the latest sign of renewed vigour in the IPO market.
Exxon-Mobil and Chevron are due to report their earnings on Friday in the US. UK-listed Shell’s June quarter profit fell a smaller-than-expected 32%, as earnings were weighed by softer oil prices, lower gas trading and outage-related losses.
European stock markets were broadly weaker as investors weigh up the impact of the upcoming tariff regime. The UK’s FTSE 100 index dipped 0.1%, while Germany’s DAX 30 fell 0.8% and France’s CAC 40 dropped 1.1%.
Ferrari slumped 12% after missing analysts’ estimates, its biggest one-day drop since listing in 2016, after saying it will cut back price compensation on some cars sold in the US once tariffs increase on carmakers, while beverage company Anheuser-Busch sank 12% after reporting a fall in volumes.
That soft tone is set to flow into the antipodes, with Australian futures pointing to a 0.5% decline for the S&P/ASX 200 index when it opens, while the kiwi dollar fell to 58.95 US cents at 7am in Auckland from 59.26 cents yesterday.
Local data today include the ANZ consumer confidence survey, while AFT Pharmaceuticals holds its annual meeting in Auckland.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Larry Nalzaro on Unsplash.
