US stock indexes closed at record highs Tuesday after President-elect Trump's latest talk about tariffs created only some ripples on Wall Street.
- The S&P 500 rose 34.26 points, or 0.6%, to 6,021.63, another all-time high.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123.74 points, or 0.3%, to 44,860.31, adding to its own record set the day before.
- The Nasdaq composite rose 119.46 points, or 0.6%, to 19,174.30.
Stock markets abroad saw mostly modest losses, after Trump said he plans to impose sweeping tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China as soon as he takes office. US automakers and other companies that could be hurt particularly by such tariffs fell.
Trump has often praised the use of tariffs, but investors are weighing whether his latest threat will actually become policy or is just an opening point for negotiations. For now, the market seems to be taking it more as the latter, the AP reports. Unless the United States can prepare alternatives for the autos, energy products, and other goods that come from Mexico, Canada, and China, such tariffs would raise the price of imported items all at once and make households poorer, according to Carl Weinberg and Rubeela Farooqi, economists at High Frequency Economics. They would also hurt profit margins for US companies, while raising the threat of retaliatory tariffs by other countries.
General Motors sank 9%, and Ford Motor fell 2.6% because both import automobiles from Mexico. Constellation Brands, which sells Modelo and other Mexican beer brands in the United States, dropped 3.3%. The talk about tariffs overshadowed another set of mixed profit reports from US retailers.
- Kohl's tumbled 17% after its results for the latest quarter fell short of analysts' expectations. CEO Tom Kingsbury said sales remain soft for apparel and footwear. A day earlier, Kingsbury said he plans to step down as CEO in January. Ashley Buchanan, CEO of Michaels and a retail veteran, will replace him.
- Best Buy fell 4.9% 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 1.4%.
- JM Smucker jumped 5.7% 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 3.2% for Amazon and 2.2% for Microsoft were the two strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.
- In the crypto market, bitcoin continued to pull back after topping $99,000 for the first time late last week. It's since dipped back toward $91,500.
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