US open: Stocks down as Trump threatens 50% tariffs on EU goods

Stocks in the US were sideswiped early on Friday afternoon by renewed tariff threats by the US president against the European Union.

In a post on his social media account, Donald Trump said that he would propose a 50% tariff on goods imported from the bloc starting from 1 June, arguing that talks with Brussels were "going nowhere".

Trade officials from the US and EU were scheduled to talk again later the same day.

Against that backdrop, as of 1441 GMT the Dow Jones Industrials was retreating by 0.60% or 249.93 points to 41,603.01, alongside a 0.76% or 44.49 point drop to 5,797.92 on the S&P 500.

Nonetheless, both indices had come off their worst levels.

Possibly helping to lift sentiment a bit, in remarks on Fox News, US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said that he hoped "this would light a fire under the EU".

In the background, the yield on the benchmark Long Bond was dipping by one basis point to 5.04%, alongside a renewed push higher in gold futures of 1.75% to $3,353.20/oz. on COMEX.

I-Phone manufacturer Apple was also in Trump's crosshairs, with the president warning that he would hit the company with a 25% tariff on all phones not made in the US.

Nuclear energy related stocks on the other hand were doing were very well, in some cases, in anticipation of the signing of executive orders by Trump to kickstart nuclear production in the US.

Nuclear power start-up Oklo was the top gainer in the space, alongside the likes of NuScale Power or Lightbridge.

Dow Jones - Risers

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $152.85 0.16%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $71.22 0.11%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $96.01 0.08%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $314.46 0.05%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $135.30 0.01%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $43.13 -0.01%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $296.57 -0.03%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $271.67 -0.08%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $257.89 -0.18%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $196.66 -2.33%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $59.92 -2.28%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.11 -2.12%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $28.11 -1.95%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $279.81 -1.27%
3M Co. (MMM) $148.06 -1.15%
Visa Inc. (V) $353.98 -1.11%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $110.01 -1.01%
Boeing Co. (BA) $201.51 -0.93%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $363.18 -0.81%

S&P 500 - Risers

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $726.41 9.06%
Fluor Corp. (FLR) $39.69 5.61%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $38.65 2.53%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $111.55 2.47%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $6.66 2.07%
Newmont Corporation (NEM) $53.41 1.44%
Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) $177.15 1.10%
Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE) $175.82 1.05%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $50.34 1.00%
Cencora Inc (COR) $292.67 0.88%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $131.04 -13.93%
Copart Inc. (CPRT) $54.63 -9.95%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.63 -5.14%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $55.36 -4.63%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $7.74 -4.62%
Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $46.99 -4.42%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $91.75 -3.25%
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $4.77 -3.25%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $3.72 -3.12%
Robert Half Inc. (RHI) $44.80 -2.84%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $726.41 9.06%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $111.55 2.47%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $50.34 1.00%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $61.50 0.72%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $1,373.51 0.64%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $225.98 0.50%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $119.31 0.24%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $30.71 0.23%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $65.64 0.22%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $84.14 0.20%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $131.04 -13.93%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $241.44 -11.26%
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $4.54 -8.74%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $55.36 -4.63%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $91.75 -3.25%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $175.10 -2.84%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $10.26 -2.70%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $143.60 -2.55%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $80.48 -2.52%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $156.64 -2.42%