ASX set to rise, Wall Street hangs near records despite Trump’s tariff talk

Unlike tariffs in Trump’s first term, his proposal from Monday night would affect products across the board.

Trump’s tariff talk came almost immediately after US 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 US 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 US retailers that answered few questions about how much more shoppers can keep spending. They’ll 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.

Kohl’s tumbled 20.4 per cent after its results for the latest quarter fell short of analysts’ 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.

Best Buy fell 8 per cent after likewise falling short of analysts’ expectations. Dick’s 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 2.4 per cent.

A report on Tuesday from the Conference Board said confidence among US consumers improved in November, but not by as much as economists expected.

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J.M. Smucker jumped 7.6 per cent 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, Café Bustelo and Jif brands.

Big Tech stocks also helped prop up US indexes. Gains of 2.7 per cent for Amazon and 1.9 per cent 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’s pick for Treasury secretary.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.31 per cent from 4.28 per cent late Monday, but it’s still well below the 4.41 per cent level where it ended last week.

In the crypto market, bitcoin continued to pull back after topping $US99,000 for the first time late last week. It’s since dipped back toward $US93,400, according to CoinDesk.

It’s a sharp turnaround from the bonanza that had earlier taken over the crypto market following Trump’s 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 “retail” investors.

AP

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