Morgans AM

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.

The US stock market fell for the third day in a row on Friday – the 2nd worst day for US equities in 2025 due to tariffs expected this week and hotter than anticipated inflation numbers.
The Dow fell -1.69% to 41,538 points, ending the week with a loss of -0.96%. 26 of the Dow 30 closed in the red.
Amazon was the worst among them, falling -4.29%, alongside fell consumer stock Nike which fell -3.81%.

All three major U.S. stock indices snapped a three-day winning streak as an imminent tariff announcement from President Trump derailed the recovery from a month-long selloff -  Dow fell -132.71-points or 0.31% lower. Nvidia Corp fell -5.74% amid concerns about possible new restrictions on the chipmaker's sales in China. Regulators in China have been discouraging the country’s large technology companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chip - specifically designed to satisfy U.S. sanctions on exports - as it breaches energy-efficiency rules, the Financial Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Boeing Co fell -2.1% after a federal judge ordered the airplane maker to go to trial in June in a criminal case related to two 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday (24 March) that Boeing sought to withdraw an earlier agreement to plead guilty in the case that blamed it for deceiving regulators before the crashes. The broader S&P500 shed -1.1% and the biggest decline in almost 2 weeks. Consumer staples rose +1.42%, leading five of the eleven primary sectors higher. Information technology was the worst hit -down -2.46% and sat at the foot of the primary sector leaderboard followed by Communication services- down 2.04%

US equity markets climbed slightly on Tuesday, boosted by a late rally in big tech, however gains slowed after a strong start to the week. Investors shrugged off weaker March consumer confidence data, focusing instead on economic risks and the looming threat of a trade war.

US equity markets settled with modest gains on Friday (21 March) following a late-session rally, erasing earlier losses after comments from U.S. President Trump provided hope that previously announced tariffs expected to begin in early April may not be as burdensome as feared - Dow edged +32-points or +0.08% higher, with Boeing Co rising +3.06% after the Trump administration awarded the plane maker a contract to build the U.S. Air Force's most sophisticated fighter jet (to be called the F-47), beating out rival Lockheed Martin Corp (down -5.79%). While financial details were not disclosed, The Wall Street Journal estimated that research, development, and acquisition costs could exceed >US$50B. Nike Inc fell -5.42% and was the worst performing Dow component after posting its fiscal third quarter result after the close of the previous session and projected a sharper decline in fourth-quarter revenue than analysts had anticipated.The broader S&P500 inched +0.08% higher, with Communication Services (up +1.0%) leading just three of the eleven primary sectors higher. Real Estate (down -1.03%) and Materials (-1.0%) both fell ~1%. Economic bellwether FedEx Corp fell -6.45% to be the worst performer in the S&P 500 after the package delivery giant reported a solid quarter result after the close of last Thursday’s (20 March) session but cut its full-year profit and revenue forecasts, citing continued weakness and uncertainty in the U.S. industrial economy.

US equity market  ticked lower on Thursday as uncertainty around the U.S. economy continued to weigh on equities, thwarting the market’s attempts at recovery from a monthlong rout.
The Dow Jones closed around the flatline -11.31 points, or 0.03%, closing at 41,953.32. The S&P 500 lost -12.40 points or 0.22%, to close at 5,662.89. The Nasdaq Composite dipped -59.16 points or 0.33% to 17,691.63.
The Small-cap Russell 2000 continued the trend losing -0.65%.