US auto firms and tech companies rallied on Wall Street as investors continue to hang off every word US President Donald Trump has to utter about tariffs and any potential carve outs.
The S&P 500 was up 1.2% in afternoon trading, with the likes of Ford and General Motors rallying on Trump’s comments that he’s considering something to help car companies, while tech firms such as Apple and Dell gained after the White House exempted some consumer electronics from punitive tariffs while the administration comes up with a sector-specific levy.
“The backtracking on previous announcements only serves to highlight the chaotic nature of the tariffs policy, the uncertainty around their implementation, and the scope for ‘favours’ for companies that get in President Trump’s ear,” Bank of New Zealand senior markets strategist Jason Wong said in a note. “This isn’t a conducive environment for businesses to invest and we’ve already seen the impact of the tariff policy on consumer sentiment.”
US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent is prioritising the UK, Australia, South Korea, India and Japan in his trade negotiations, while Japan has started reviewing nontrade barriers to improve its position in the talks.
Meanwhile, Nvidia said it plans to build artificial intelligence servers worth as much as US$500 billion in the US over the next four years with support from partners such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, something Trump put down to his tariff regime.
And Meta Platforms declined as the US Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust case against the Facebook owner kicked off, with the regulator seeking to force the tech giant to sell Instagram and WhatsApp.
Going for Goldman
Goldman Sachs gained after reporting a stronger than expected March quarter result, with record revenue coming from its equities trading and lending unit as clients repositioned their portfolios ahead of Trump’s Liberation Day tariff announcements.
Meanwhile, luxury goods maker LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton gained after reporting a decline in quarterly sales that missed expectations, with the year-earlier figures boosted by a boom that wasn’t repeated.
The US bond market calmed down from last week’s ructions, with the yield on US 10-year Treasuries falling 11 basis points to 4.36%, while the kiwi dollar outperformed most currencies, climbing to 58.86 US cents at 7am in Auckland from 58.55 cents yesterday.
Stock markets in Europe were broadly stronger, with the UK’s FTSE 100 up 1.2% and Germany’s DAX 40 advancing 2.9%.
That upbeat sentiment is set to carry on into the antipodes, with Australian futures pointing to a 0.4% gain for the S&P/ASX 200 index.
Local data today includes Statistics New Zealand’s March food prices, while Reserve Bank chief economist Paul Conway will deliver a speech on the central bank’s forecasting process.