The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite reached new milestones on Thursday as investors continued to shrug off tariff worries.
Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at all-time highs, with the broad index gaining 0.27% to end the day at 6,280.46. The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed up 0.09% to 20,630.67. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
added 192 points, or 0.43%, to finish at 44,650.64.
The moves came after President Donald Trump said late Wednesday that a 50% U.S. tariff on imported copper will take effect Aug. 1. Trump also announced a 50% tariff on Brazil partly in retaliation for the current trial against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for his role in an alleged attempt to overturn the country’s 2022 election results. The move was also due to the “very unfair trade relationship” with Brazil, Trump added, saying it has been “far from Reciprocal.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva later said that the country would respond to the 50% levy in accordance with its economic reciprocity law. The iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ)
shed 1.6% on Thursday.
Prior to the president’s announcement of levies on Brazil, he sent letters that dictated new U.S. rates on the imports of at least seven additional countries. He had also sent letters laying out new rates earlier this week to the leaders of 14 other countries, such as Japan and South Korea. The duties are set to take effect Aug. 1.
Despite the increasing trade tensions, U.S. markets have been able to march to record highs, recovering from steep losses suffered in the spring.
“It is wild to think that valuations are above where we started the year considering all the uncertainties with tariffs, and we now have a new deadline. The market’s been extremely desensitized to all of this back and forth, and I think for good reason,” said Mike Dickson, head of research and quantitative strategies at Horizon Investment.
Wall Street also saw gains during Wednesday’s session. Those gains were spurred by optimism around the artificial intelligence trade, which sent Nvidia
shares nearly 2% higher to become the first public company to be valued at $4 trillion. With shares up 0.8% on Thursday, the chip stock remained above that benchmark Thursday.
Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are now pacing for a positive weekly performance, while the Dow is poised to end with a 0.4% decline.
source: cnbc.com
