After a turbulent Thursday that saw major U.S. indexes sink sharply, Friday’s premarket futures suggest a modest rebound. In premarket trading, the S&P 500 rose 0.3%, the Dow gained 0.2%, and the Nasdaq climbed 0.4%. Tech heavyweights Amazon (AMZN-5.76%), Apple (AAPL-4.58%), and Tesla (TSLA-9.08%) all pointed slightly higher.
BlackRock (BLK-5.47%) and JPMorgan (JPM-4.19%) traded up 1.4% and 1.2%, respectively, ahead of a packed day of bank earnings. Investors will be watching closely for signs of strain or resilience in the lending and credit markets.
Overnight, China announced a steep escalation in its trade retaliation, raising tariffs on U.S. imports from 84% to 125%. Chinese officials said the new rates effectively render U.S. goods uncompetitive — and that any further tariff increases from Washington would be treated as economically irrelevant.
Meanwhile, gold surged to a record high above $3,200 an ounce as the bond selloff resumed and investors fled U.S. assets.
Long-dated Treasury yields spiked again, signaling persistent fears over inflation and policy volatility. The U.S. dollar also slid, with the ICE Dollar Index down more than 1% to its lowest level in nearly three years. Deutsche Bank (DB-3.17%) analysts quoted by the New York Times cited the “radical vision and volatile policy” of the Trump administration as a major reason for the depreciation of key U.S. assets.
Consumer-facing companies are also beginning to warn of downstream effects.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the newly announced tariffs are already prompting third-party sellers to raise prices and consumers to stockpile. While Amazon is trying to soften the blow by stockpiling inventory and renegotiating with suppliers, Jassy acknowledged inflationary pressures are likely to ripple through.
Meanwhile, the political climate may be adding its own chill. JPMorgan strategist Michael Cembalest revealed this week that he has begun softening his public commentary on tariffs, citing the tense environment and recent executive orders targeting firms and individuals associated with Trump-era investigations.
Other analysts are speaking out, however, with Wedbush releasing a memo Friday morning that did not mince words.
“The economic tariff Armageddon unleashed by Trump last week has been the dark black cloud over stocks since this fiasco began and so far it’s been a Wall Street/stock driven event…that is all about to change over the coming days and weeks for US consumers and businesses with the China 145% tariff now in place,” the memo said.
“The self-inflicted uncertainty from the China tariffs has turned the corporate capital expenditures world upside down, created mass uncertainty not seen since Covid, created a price shock that will impact the daily lives of U.S. consumers with no end in sight, and unfortunately ripped the hearts and lungs out of the U.S. Big Tech supply chain in the process with no minimal to no alternatives.”
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