Stock Market Today: Stocks steady as markets fade Trump tariff risks

Stocks are ready to test fresh all-time highs despite myriad tariff, tax and political risks swirling around Wall Street.

Feb 14, 2025 - 12:05

Stock Market Today: Stocks steady as markets fade Trump tariff risks

U.S. equity futures edged modestly lower in early Friday trading, while the dollar extended its recent decline, as markets picked through details of President Donald Trump's latest tariff plan and prepped for a busy slate of economic data prior to the opening bell.

Stocks ended firmly higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 closing near to its all-time peak, following big intra-day moves for index heavyweights Tesla (TSLA) , Nvidia (NVDA) and Apple (AAPL) . A mixed reading of producer price inflation, which showed some components that feed into the Federal Reserve's PCE price index slowing down, added to the session's bullish tenor.

President Trump's tariff unveiling, which began late afternoon in the White House, didn't undo the market rally, either, as traders continue to fade comments from the Executive amid the dizzying pace of headlines, orders and edicts since his inauguration in January.

Trump vowed to impose 'reciprocal' tariffs on U.S. trading partners, but gave his Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnik, until April to come up with a formula for doing so, raising the prospect of either negotiated terms or a pullback in the strategy altogether.

Markets are starting to fade President Trump's announcements amid the dizzying pace of orders, policies and edicts from the Oval Office.
The Washington Post/Getty Images

“I’ve decided, for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff, meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America,” Trump said. “In almost all cases, they’re charging us vastly more than we charge them but those days are over.”

The U.S. dollar index extended its biggest decline in three weeks in overnight trading, and was last marked 0.37% lower at 106.912, suggesting global investors aren't as affect by Trump's announcements as they have been in the past.

"Trump’s trade rhetoric will continue influencing the market, but investors are becoming more selective in their responses," said Boris Kovacevic, global macro strategist at Convera. Due to his shifting positions on key trade issues, markets are reacting cautiously rather than to every headline."

On Wall Street, stocks are set for a muted open, with a key January reading of retail sales, as well as trade and industrial production data, slated to arrive before the opening bell.

Futures contracts tied to the S&P 500, which is now up 0.19% for the month and 2.9% for the year, are priced for a modest 5 point pullback at the start of trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, is called 110 points lower with the tech-focused Nasdaq priced for a 5 point dip.

Stocks on the move include Intel (INTC) , which is having its best run of gains since 1975, as investors bet on a the chipmakers turnaround and spinoff plans. Shares in the group were last marked 3.5% higher in premarket trading at 24.99 each.

In overseas markets, Europe's Stoxx 600 was marked 0.02% lower in mid-day Frankfurt trading, but are still on pace for their eighth straight weekly advance, while Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.3% lower in muted London trading.

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Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 ended 0.79% lower on the session, but ended the week with a 1.74% gain, thanks in part to a weaker yen and solid tech stock performance.

The regional MSCI ex-Japan benchmark, meanwhile, was last seen 1.07% higher after tech stocks in China rallied hard on reports that President Xi Jinping will chair an industry summit, along with billionaire investor Jack Ma, early next week.