NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 U.S. stocks are hanging near on Tuesday as Wall Street takes in stride, even if they could roil the global economy were they to take effect.
The S&P 500 rose 0.4% in afternoon trading and was on track to squeak past its all-time high set a couple weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 40 points, or 0.1%, from its own record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% higher, as of 2:40 p.m. Eastern time.
Stock markets abroad were down, but mostly only modestly, after President-elect Trump said he on Mexico, Canada and as soon as he takes office. Stock indexes were down 0.1% in Shanghai and nearly flat in Hong Kong, while Canada's main index was down 0.3%.
People are also reading…
Trump has often praised the use of tariffs, but investors are weighing whether his latest threat will actually become policy or is just an opening point for negotiations. For now, the market seems to be taking it more as the latter.
Unless the United States can prepare alternatives for the autos, energy products and other goods that come from Mexico, Canada and China, such tariffs would raise the price of imported items all at once and make households poorer, according to Carl Weinberg and Rubeela Farooqi, economists at High Frequency Economics. They would also hurt profit margins for U.S. companies, while raising the threat of retaliatory tariffs by other countries.
General Motors sank 8.1%, and Ford Motor fell 2.5%. Constellation Brands, which sells Modelo and other Mexican beers in the United States, dropped 3.6%.
Beyond the pain such tariffs would cause U.S. households and businesses, they could also push the Federal Reserve to slow or even halt its cuts to interest rates. The Fed had just begun from a two-decade high a couple months ago to offer support to the . While lower interest rates can boost the overall economy and prices for investments, they can also offer more fuel for inflation.
Unlike tariffs in Trump's first term, his proposal from Monday night would affect products across the board.
Trump鈥檚 tariff talk came almost immediately after U.S. stocks rose Monday amid excitement about his pick for Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent. The hope was the hedge-fund manager could steer Trump away from policies that balloon the U.S. government deficit, which is how much more it spends than it takes in through taxes and other revenue.
The talk about tariffs overshadowed another set of mixed profit reports from U.S. retailers that answered few questions about how much more shoppers can keep spending. They鈥檒l need to stay resilient after helping the economy avoid a recession, despite the high interest rates instituted by the Fed to get inflation under control.
tumbled 15.9% after its results for the latest quarter fell short of analysts鈥 expectations. CEO Tom Kingsbury said sales remain soft for apparel and footwear, which helped drag its revenue lower. Kingsbury said a day earlier that he plans to step down as CEO in January. Ashley Buchanan, CEO of Michaels and a retail veteran, will replace him.
fell 5.6% after likewise falling short of analysts鈥 expectations. Dick鈥檚 Sporting Goods topped forecasts for the latest quarter thanks to a strong back-to-school season, but its stock lost an early gain to fall 1%.
A report on Tuesday from the Conference Board said improved in November, but not by as much as economists expected.
J.M. Smucker jumped 5.1% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500 after topping analysts' expectations for the latest quarter. CEO Mark Smucker credited strength for its Uncrustables, Meow Mix, Caf茅 Bustelo and Jif brands.
also helped prop up U.S. indexes. Gains of 2.8% for Amazon and 2% for Microsoft were two of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.
In the bond market, Treasury yields rose following their big drop from a day before driven by relief following Trump鈥檚 pick for Treasury secretary.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.31% from 4.28% late Monday, but it鈥檚 still well below the 4.41% level where it ended last week.
In the crypto market, bitcoin continued to pull back after late last week. It's since dipped back toward $92,100, according to CoinDesk.
It鈥檚 a sharp turnaround from the following Trump鈥檚 election. That boom had also appeared to have spilled over into some corners of the stock market. Strategists at Barclays Capital pointed to stocks of unprofitable companies, along with other areas that can be caught up in bursts of optimism by smaller-pocketed 鈥渞etail鈥 investors.
AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
