President Donald Trump pushes the Fed to lower interest rates
President Donald Trump sent a note to the chairman, who asked him to lower interest rates.
U.S. stocks were pretty much high by noon as investors shifted their focus from President Donald Trump’s tariffs to corporate news.
MP Materials shares skyrocketed after the Department of Defense said it had become the largest shareholder, and Delta Air Lines revolved its airline sector after saying its bookings had stabilized. Delta also said premium ticket revenues increased by 5% year-on-year, while loyalty program revenues increased by 8%.
At 12:23pm ET, the Blue Chip Dow added 0.49%, or 218.82 points, to 44,677.12. The Broad S&P 500 scored 0.18% (11.42 points) at 6,274.68. However, the technology-rich Nasdaq immersed 0.06% (12.58 points) in 20,598.76 after reaching a new record early. The benchmark 10-year yield rose to 4.368% as robust economic data continues to boost hopes for rate cuts.
Previously, Trump slapped Brazil with 50% tariffs, and Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva said his country would respond. Trump also said a 50% tariff on copper imports would begin on August 1.
The Brazilian collection comes after Trump sends a letter with a new US fee on imports from at least seven countries. Earlier this week, he sent letters to 14 countries, including Japan and South Korea. These tariffs will come into effect on August 1st if the country does not agree to the trade agreement.
The European Union expects to reach a brief trade agreement with the US this week.
Stocks closed higher on July 9th, with Nasdaq reaching record highs as Nvidia temporarily reached a $4 trillion valuation, helping to break the appetite of artificial intelligence stocks. The minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting promoted hope that inflationary pressure from tariffs will not derail interest rate cuts this year. The minutes showed that most Fed members expected the expected price rise from tariffs to be “temporary or modest,” but were split when the rates could be reduced again.
Jobless unexpectedly claims data for the week ending July 5th. Jobless’s claim is a total of 227,000 seasonally adjusted, down 5,000 from the previous period, below the Dow Jones estimate of 235,000. However, continued claims have increased to 1.96 million, bringing the highest level to 10,000 since November 13, 2021. Continued billing is an indicator of how long people have lost their jobs.
“The labor market may not necessarily be robust, but it also shows no signs of falling apart,” said Bret Kenwell, US investment analyst at Etoro.
As long as the economy is supported, the Fed is waiting to see how tariffs are formed and affect the inflation and the economy.
Corporate News
- WK Kellogg is purchased in cash by Chocolate Maker Ferrero at $3.1 billion or $23 per Kellogg shares. Stocks rose 30.37%.
- Delta Air Lines has surpassed its quarterly estimates in its third financial quarter. After Trump announced his first tariff plan, he overturned his decision to draw guidance in April, and issued a profit perspective for the year. However, earnings per share forecasts were lower than revenue issued in January. The stock was 11.67%.
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing reported a 40% jump from the previous year in revenues from January to June. The stocks were almost 1% lower.
- MP Material, which owns the only operational rare earth mine in the United States, saw its shares rise 44.36% after the company said the company would buy $400 million in preferred stock to become its biggest shareholder.
- Conagra shares fell 3.02% after reporting disappointing quarter results and annual outlook.
- Ulta Beauty said it has acquired UK beauty retailer Space NK as part of its international growth plan. The conditions have not been revealed. Ulta’s shares rose 1.41%.
Cryptocurrency.
Donald Trump Jr. purchased 350,000 shares from social media company Thumzup Media Corp for over $4 million. Thumzp Media recently adopted a Bitcoin financial strategy and currently owns more than $2 million in Bitcoin.
Apart from that, Apple has approved the first iOS game, allowing players to spend a small amount of Bitcoin on in-game additions. Payments are made through ZBD’s technology, which processes high-speed, low-cost payments without leaving the app.
Bitcoin last rose 0.51% to $111,844.60, down from its record high of July 9th at $112,000.
(This story has been updated with new information.)
Medora Lee is a money, market and personal finance reporter for USA Today. mjlee@usatoday.com and Subscribe to our free daily money newsletter Personal finance tips and business news every Monday to Friday.
