United States benchmark averages ended mixed on Friday as investor sentiment wavered following reports that President Donald Trump is pressing for steep new tariffs on European Union imports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 142.3 points, or 0.3%, to close at 44,342.2. The S&P 500 edged down less than 0.01% to 6,296.8, despite notching a new intraday record earlier in the session. The Nasdaq Composite managed to gain 11.4 points, or 0.05%, to finish at 20,895.7.
According to the Financial Times, Trump is demanding that any trade deal with the EU include minimum tariffs between 15% and 20%.
The report, citing three people familiar with the negotiations, comes ahead of Trump’s 1 August deadline, when he has pledged to begin imposing 30% tariffs on EU goods if no agreement is reached.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also confirmed on CBS News Sunday that the new U.S. tariff rates will take effect on 1 August, calling it a “hard deadline”, but noting that countries can continue trade talks beyond that date.
Markets were also digesting a slew of corporate earnings and fresh economic data. Consumer inflation concerns appeared to ease, with the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index rising 1.8% from June to 61.8 in July.
However, earnings news added to market volatility. Netflix fell 5.1% after the streaming giant warned that its operating margin in the second half of the year would be lower than in the first.
3M dropped 3.7% after the company revised its organic sales growth outlook to a flat 2%, trimming expectations from its earlier range of 2% to 3%.
American Express also weighed on the Dow, sliding 2.4% after releasing its quarterly earnings.
Despite Friday’s fluctuations, corporate earnings season has begun on a strong note. Earlier in the week, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs posted better-than-expected results.
On Thursday, both PepsiCo and United Airlines topped analyst forecasts, sending their stocks higher.
For the week, the Nasdaq rose 1.5% and the S&P 500 gained 0.6%. The Dow ended the week slightly lower.
On the bond markets, 10-year and 2-year rates were down 0.8% and 1% at 4.420% and 3.869%, respectively.
