Wall Street was mixed in quiet trading early Tuesday as markets appeared to shrug off new tariff deadlines for U.S. trading partners.
Futures for the S&P 500 added 0.1% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.1%. Nasdaq futures rose 0.2%.
Markets tumbled Monday after President Donald Trump set a 25% tax on goods imported from Japan and South Korea and new tariff rates on a dozen other nations scheduled to go into effect on Aug. 1.
The S&P slid 0.8% on Monday to its biggest one-day decline since June, but remains near record levels. The Dow and Nasdaq fared about the same, but the wild, tariff-induced swings of the spring seem to have tempered.
Trump provided notice by posting letters on Truth Social that were addressed to the leaders of the various countries. The letters warned them to not retaliate by increasing their own import taxes, or else the Trump administration would further increase tariffs.
“Financial markets have reacted to news of higher U.S. tariffs in sanguine fashion,” wrote Chris Turner, ING’s global head of markets. “Presumably, the view is now that there are more deals to be done before the (Aug. 1) deadline.”
Just before hefty U.S. tariffs on goods imported from nearly every country around the globe were to take effect in April, Trump postponed the levies for 90 days in hopes that foreign governments would be more willing to strike new trade deals. That 90-day negotiating period was set to expire before Wednesday.
Amazon shares rose less than 1% before the bell on Tuesday as the online retail behemoth kicked off Prime Day, which beginning this year, lasts four days. Amazon launched the membership sales event in 2015 and expanded it to two days in 2019.
At midday in Europe, Germany's DAX rose 0.4%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 edged 0.2% higher. France’s CAC 40 shed 0.1%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.3% to 39,688.81 while South Korea’s Kospi surged 1.8% to 3,114.95.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 1.1% to 24,140.13 while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.7% to 3,497.48. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% lower to 8,590.70.
U.S. crude oil lost 17 cents to $67.76 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 6 cents to $69.52.
The dollar was trading at 146.37 to the Japanese yen, up from 146.01 yen. The euro rose to $1.1734 from $1.1714.
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