Wall Street holds near its record amid doubts about Trump's tariffs
[July 15, 2025] By
STAN CHOE
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes hung near their records on Monday
following President Donald Trump’s latest updates to his tariffs, as
speculation continues on Wall Street that he may ultimately back down on
them.
The S&P 500 edged up by 0.1% to pull within 0.2% of its all-time high
set on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 88 points, or
0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.3% to set a record.
Stock indexes elsewhere around the world were mixed in their first
trading after Trump announced plans over the weekend for 30% tariffs on
goods from Mexico and the European Union. They won’t take effect until
Aug. 1, the same deadline that Trump announced last week for updated tax
rates on imports from Japan, South Korea and a dozen other countries.
The latest postponements for Trump’s tariffs allow more time for him to
reach trade deals with other countries that could lower the tariff rates
and prevent pain for international trade. They also feed into
speculation that Trump may ultimately back down on his tariffs if they
end up creating too much damage for the economy and for financial
markets.
If Trump were to enact all his proposed tariffs on Aug. 1, they would
raise the risk of a recession. That would not only hurt U.S. voters but
also raise the pressure on the U.S. government’s debt level relative to
the economy’s size, particularly after Washington approved big tax cuts
that will add to the deficit.
“We therefore believe that the administration is using this latest round
of tariff escalation to maximize its negotiating leverage and that it
will ultimately de-escalate, especially if there is a new bout of
heightened bond and stock market volatility,” according to Ulrike
Hoffmann-Burchardi, global head of equities at UBS Global Wealth
Management.
“As usual, there are many conditions and clauses that can get these
rates reduced,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth
Management. “That’s probably why the market might not like the tariff
talk, but it’s not panicking about it either.”
For the time being, all the uncertainty around tariffs could help keep
markets unsteady. This upcoming week has several potential flashpoints
that could shake things.
On Tuesday will come the latest reading on inflation across the United
States. Economists expect it to show inflation accelerated to 2.6% last
month from 2.4% in May.
Companies are also lining up to report how they performed during the
spring. JPMorgan Chase and several other huge banks will report their
latest quarterly results on Tuesday, followed by Johnson & Johnson on
Wednesday and PepsiCo on Thursday.
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Dilip Patel laughs while working on the floor at the New York Stock
Exchange in New York, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
 Fastenal, a distributor of
industrial and construction supplies, on Monday reported a stronger
profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its stock rose
4.2%, though it also said that market conditions remain sluggish.
Shares of Kenvue rose 2.2% after the former division of Johnson &
Johnson said CEO Thibaut Mongon is stepping down. Kenvue, the maker
of Listerine and Band-Aid brands, is in the midst of a strategic
review of its options, “including ways to simplify the company’s
portfolio and how it operates,” according to Larry Merlo, the
board’s chair.
Waters slumped 13.8% after saying it had agreed to merge with
Becton, Dickinson and Co.’s biosciences and diagnostic solutions
business in a deal valued at roughly $17.5 billion.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 8.81 points to 6,268.56. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average added 88.14 to 44,459.65, and the Nasdaq
composite climbed 54.80 to 20,640.33 to top its last all-time high
set on Thursday.
In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady. The
yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.42% from 4.43% late
Friday.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe.
Germany’s DAX lost 0.4%, and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.3%. But indexes
rose 0.8% in South Korea and 0.3% in Hong Kong.
Chinese shares advanced after the government reported that exports
rose last month as a truce in a tariff war prompted a surge in
orders ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline for reaching a new trade deal
with Washington.
Some of the biggest moves in financial markets were for crypto,
where bitcoin continues to set records. This upcoming week is
“Crypto Week” in Washington, where Congress will consider several
bills to “make America the crypto capital of the world.”
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AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
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