US equity markets retreated in muted trading  - Dow fell -156-points or -0.38% Boeing Co fell -2.36% and was the worst performer in the 30-stock index after a Bloomberg report said China ordered its airlines not to take any further deliveries of the company’s jets, marking the latest escalation in the trade war between Washington and Beijing.
Nvidia Corp fell over >5.5% in extended trading (after rising +1.35% in the regular session) after the company disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that future sales of its H20 AI accelerators to China would require a license from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The licenses are unlikely to be forthcoming. As a result, Nvidia will take a US$5.5B charge in the current (first) quarter for H20 inventory and cancelled sales.

US equity markets advanced as investors digested another busy slate of information including the latest developments in a trade war with China, earnings reports from major banks and economic data - Dow rose +619-points or +1.56%, with the 30-stock index trading in an 1,150 point range after swinging more than >2,000 points between its high and low for the day in each of the preceding four (4) trading sessions.  Apple Inc (up +4.06%) was the leading Dow component on Friday (11 April) amid growing optimism the iPhone maker could win an exemption from the Trump administration’s tariffs. Nvidia Corp, which outsources manufacturing to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) Ltd (up +3.94% on the New York Stock Exchange), gained +3.12% after the China Semiconductor Industry Association said chips made by U.S. firms with outsourced manufacturing operations would not be subject to tariffs on U.S. goods. Meta Platforms Inc (up +7.7%) and the Federal Trade Commission face off tonight AEST over antitrust allegations which could force the social media giant to unwind its acquisition of messaging platform WhatsApp and photo-sharing app Instagram. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg is expected to appear in the witness stand.

US equity markets retreated, handing back a portion of the huge gains logged in the previous session’s near record breaking rebound. Losses accelerated after the White House confirmed that the cumulative tariff rate on China would actually total 145% (consisting of the new 125% duty on goods, on top of the 20% rate levied in response to the fentanyl crisis), overshadowing cooler-than-expected inflation figures.
Dow fell -1,015-points or -2.50% Nike Inc (down -8.29%) was the worst performer in the 30-stock index, Nvidia Corp fell -6.79% after soaring +18.72% in the previous session.  A report from NPR said the White House has paused plans to put additional restrictions on sales of Nvidia’s H20 artificial-intelligence chips after CEO Jensen Huang attended a dinner hosted by Trump and promised more investment in U.S.-based AI data centres. Separately, Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore kept Nvidia as a top pick, reiterating his Overweight rating and price target of $162. Walt Disney Co fell -6.79%, with China said it would reduce the number of U.S. movies it imports.  Amazon.com Inc (-5.17%), American Express Co (-5.9%), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (-5.24%), and Merck & Co Inc (-5.32%) all dropped over >5%.  

A late session slide erased earlier strong gains on US equity markets to cap another volatile session after Beijing vowed to "fight to the end" in response to President Trump's threat of imposing new 50% tariffs unless China rapidly removed its retaliatory measures - Dow settled -320-points or -0.84% lower, having been up as much as +1,461-points or +3.85% at its session peak – marking the biggest erased percentage gain since April 2020. Apple Inc (down -4.98%) extended its decline into a fourth straight session, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying that President Trump “absolutely” wants iPhones to be manufactured in the U.S. (the company currently assembles a large majority of its products in China). The Times of India reported that Apple transported five planes full of iPhones and other products from India to the US in just three-days during the final week of March to avoid a 10% reciprocal tariff that took effect on 5 April. Nike Inc (-4.21%) also fell over >4%. Nvidia Corp (fell -1.37%)

Friday (4 April) marked another brutal session for US equity markets as China responded in kind to the Trump administration’s tariff measures and further fanned recession fears - Dow dropped -2,231-points or -5.50% , with Boeing Co (down -9.49%) and 3M Co (-9.18%) both fell over >9% to lead all 30-index components lower with the exception of Nike Inc (up +3%). The latter was buoyed by a friendly social-media post from President Trump about Vietnam, a country Nike relies on heavily to manufacture their products.
China’s finance ministry announced its own 34% tariff on all US imports, effective 10 April. The levy matches the 34% import duty the White House said it would impose on Chinese products slated to go into effect no later than 9 April. Beijing said Trump's tariffs were "inconsistent with international trade rules, seriously undermines China's legitimate rights and interests, and is a typical unilateral bullying practice." In addition to the tariffs, China imposed export bans on select rare earth materials and added two US drone manufacturers to its "unreliable entities" list, effectively restricting their access to Chinese components. It also expanded its “unreliable entity list” by 11 American companies and launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of medical CT tubes from the U.S. and India.

US markets tumbled overnight as fears around a potential recession pick up. The US markets appearing to be the biggest losers after the tariff announcement. The Dow closed down -3.98% to 40,545. Insurance company UnitedHealth Group was the top performer, up 3.3%. Meanwhile Nike was the worst impacted, dropping -14.44%. The vast majority of Nike’s imports into the US are from Southeast Asia, which will attract tariffs of between 25% and 54%.

The US stock market turned up late overnight, as investors await Trumps so called “Liberation Day” tariffs. However, since the announcement the markets have dropped in aftermarket trading, with the Dow futures down -1.8%, S&P500 futures down > -3%, and the Nasdaq futures down > -4%. So far Trump has promised a minimum 10% tariff on all countries, with larger tariffs on certain countries and industries. So far the major tariffs are 34% on China, 20% on the EU, 26% on India, and 10% on Australia and the UK. The Dow closed up 0.56% to 42,225.  

The US stock was mixed overnight.  
The Dow closed mostly flat, down -0.03% to 41,989 points.  
Nike was the top performer, up 2.02%. While pharma companies were all sold off, with the three worst performing stocks including Johnson & Johnson down -7.59%, Merck down -2.94%, and Amgen down -1.49%. Johnson & Johnson has just had a federal judge reject a $10b class action settlement over cancer claims relating to its baby powder.