U.S. stocks closed mixed, with the broad S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq off fresh record highs, on a report saying President Donald Trump wants at least a 15% tariff on European Union goods.
The Financial Times said Trump is pushing for a minimum15% to 20% levy on all EU goods. The EU is attempting to reach a trade deal with the U.S. ahead of Trump’s Aug. 1 deadline. Trump had threatened 30% tariffs on the EU.
The FT also said Trump would be fine to keep auto sector tariffs at 25%.
The blue-chip Dow fell 0.32%, or 142.30 points, to44,342.19; the S&P 500 dipped 0.01%, or 0.57 point, to 6,296.79; and the Nasdaq edged up 0.05%, or 10.01 points, to 20,895.66. The benchmark 10-year yield dipped to 4.423%.
The latest tariff news erased the S&P 500 and Nasdaq’s earlier gains to new record highs after more earnings reports were released and consumer sentiment data showed Americans growing more optimistic.
Of the roughly 60 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings so far, about 86% have beaten analyst expectations. Before the opening bell, 3M, Schwab, Ally Financial and American Express were among the companies that reported strong earnings.
Meanwhile, the University of Michigan’s preliminary reading for July’s consumer sentiment report rose to 61.8. That’s up from a final reading of 60.7 in June and the highest since February but still below levels last year, said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial.
It’s still good news though that consumers are slowly feeling better but more importantly, inflation expectations are falling, he said.
“Despite risks of rising consumer inflation in the next few months, consumers have well-anchored expectations that tariff inflation will be temporary, and that conditions should improve by the time we enter 2026,” Roach said. “Inflation expectation is an important factor for the Fed and according to this report, the trajectory looks encouraging.”
The Nasdaq has been the week’s top performer. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 have both hit record highs this week, but the Dow lags.
Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller, a Donald Trump appointee from the president’s first term, is the latest to talk about succeeding Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. He said he would accept the top job if offered.
The comments come after a week filled with speculation over Powell’s job at the Fed. The Trump administration’s been turning up the heat on Powell. The Trump administraton has seized on a overbudget renovation of the Fed’s headquarters to find cause to dismiss Powell, and Trump reportedly was going to fire the Fed chief but later denied that.
Other names to replace Powell have included Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh and Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council.
Economists are split on how much a Powell departure would affect stocks and the economy in the long-run. However, most expect the stock market to drop sharply initially if Powell left before his term ends next year.
A first-of-its-kind cryptocurrency bill is headed to the president’s desk for signing into law after the House passed the Genius Act to regulate stablecoins. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies often pegged to a fiat currency like the US dollar or a commodity like gold to help keep its value from fluctuating wildly.
Separately, a large Bitcoin holder (also known as a whale) reportedly moved another 40,192 bitcoins worth about $4.75 billion to a new address. Earlier in the week, the whale moved 40,009 BTC across multiple transfers to asset manager Galaxy Digital, reports said.
Earlier this summer, the same whale thought to be one of the original Bitcoin holders who bought the digital units for less than $1 apiece, transferred approximately 80,000 bitcoins worth about $9.5 billion in 10,000-bitcoin batches to eight new addresses after being dormant since 2011.
Bitcoin was last down 1.73% at $117,267.20.
(This story was updated with new information.)
Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday.