U.S. stocks were mixed in mid-day Tuesday trading, while the dollar rallied and Treasury bonds fell, as investors reacted to threats of significant tariffs on imported goods from President-elect Donald Trump that could upend markets heading into the final weeks of the year.
Stocks are holding gains into the mid-day session, with the S&P 500 just a few points shy of its all-time high and last marked 0.3% higher at 6,004.50 points.
Amgen’s 8.9% slide is responsible for 170 points of downside weight to the Dow’s 129 point decline while the Nasdaq was last marked 85 points, or 0.45% higher from last night’s close.
General Motors (GM) shares slumped lower in early trading, with Ford Motor (F) and Stellantis (STLA) also moving into the red, as investors reacted to the threat of significant tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada from President-elect Donald Trump.
Both automakers have significant operations in the USMCA territories, and the 25% levy proposed by the President-elect could cripple profits at each of the Detroit 3 giants.
GM shares were last marked 7.3% lower at $55.82 each while Stellantis fell 4.5% to $12.76 each. Ford was marked 2% lower at $11.17 each.
The Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence jumped higher this month, with a reading of expectations rising to the highest in three years.
“November’s increase was mainly driven by more positive consumer assessments of the present situation, particularly regarding the labor market. Compared to October, consumers were also substantially more optimistic about future job availability, which reached its highest level in almost three years,” said chief economist Dana Peterson.
“Meanwhile, consumers’ expectations about future business conditions were unchanged and they were slightly less positive about future income,” she said
Updated at 9:38 AM EST
The S&P 500 was marked 17 points, or 0.29% higher in the opening minutes of trading with the Nasdaq gaining 91 points, or 0.44%.
The Dow was marked 155 points lower while the mid-cap Russell 2000 slipped 10 points, or 0.44%.
Updated at 9:07 AM EST
Amgen (AMGN) shares are dragging the Dow lower in premarket trading after the drugmaker published data from its anti-obesity treatment that disappointed investor expectations.
Amgen said its MariTide treatment helped overweight or obese patients lower 20% of their body weight following a year-long trial, a level that was seen to have met the baseline threshold of investor forecasts.
Amgen shares were marked 11.9% lower in premarket trading to indicate an opening bell price of $259.02 each.
The move is likely to clip between 210 to 220 points from the Dow, which is called 140 points lower at the start of trading.
Updated at 7:28 AM EST
Two key U.S. retailers lowered their full-year profit forecasts Tuesday, suggesting the holiday shopping season could be muted by elevated inflation and broader consumer uncertainty.
Electronics retailer Best Buy (BBY) , which relies heavily on Apple purchases, estimates that same-store sales for the holiday period will fall between 2.5% and 3.5% from 2023 levels.
Kohl’s (KSS) , meanwhile, posted a weaker-than-expected third-quarter update, slashed its full-year sales forecast, and ousted Chief Executive Tom Kingsbury after less than two years at the helm of the upscale clothing and home-goods retailer
Kohl’s shares were marked 15.9% lower in premarket trading at $15.50, a move that would extend their 2024 slide to around 50%. Best Buy shares, meanwhile, were marked 7% lower at $86.50.
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Trump’s late Monday message on his Truth Social social-media network suggested he would impose additional tariffs of around 10% on China-made imports, while slapping a 25% levy on imports from both Canada and Mexico, both of which are signatories to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement trade agreement.
The tariff threats, which Trump linked to broader issues of drug importation and illegal immigration, look set to undo some of the market’s early-week optimism tied to the nomination of Wall Street veteran Scott Bessent as treasury secretary.
“As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before,” Trump said. “This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”
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The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major global currency peers, rose to 106.821 in overnight dealing, while both the Canadian dollar and the Mexican peso slumped.
The euro was also on the back foot, falling to 1.0516 against the dollar as investors worried the the eurozone bloc would be the next target of Trump’s tariff ploy.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields rose 2 basis points overnight to 4.301%. Two-year notes reversed some of yesterday’s advance, which followed a strong auction of $69 billion in new notes, to trade at 4.275%.
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On Wall Street, stocks are set for a muted open, with futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 priced for a 6-point opening-bell gain and those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average called 20 points higher.
The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile, is priced for a 22-point opening bell gain.
Stocks on the move include Rivian Automotive (RIVN) , which jumped 7.2% in the premarket following conditional approval for a $6.6 billion loan from the Department of Energy to build an EV production facility in Georgia.
Intel (INTC) shares were 2% higher at $25.34 after the chipmaker secured $7.9 billion in grants and subsidies under the Chips Act to build new semiconductor facilities in Oregon, New Mexico and Arizona.
Eli Lilly (LLY) , meanwhile, jumped 2% to $770 after President Joe Biden proposed rule changes to Medicare and Medicaid that would force the U.S. government to cover anti-obesity treatments such as the drugmaker’s Mounjaro.
The U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk (NVO) , the Denmark-based maker of weight-loss-drug-market leader Ozempic, was marked 1.7% higher in the premarket.
In overseas markets, the Stoxx 600 index was marked 0.56% lower in mid-day Frankfurt trading, with auto stocks leading the decline amid concerns about new tariffs on U.S. imports, while Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.34% in London.
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Overnight in Asia, stocks in China were lower across the board, with the CSI 300 benchmark falling 0.21% and the Shanghai Composite down 0.12%. The market moves pulled the regionwide MSCI ex-Japan benchmark 0.55% lower into the close of trading.
Japan’s Nikkei 225, meanwhile, was marked 0.87% lower by the close of trading in Tokyo.
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