Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on July 08, 2025 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
Stock futures were little changed on Wednesday evening after the S&P 500 recouped some of its losses from this week’s tariff-fueled slide.
S&P 500 futures traded just below the flatline, along with Nasdaq 100 futures. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down just 14 points.
President Donald Trump announced late Wednesday 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.
That comes after Wall Street saw gains during Wednesday’s session. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average posted their first positive sessions in three with a rise of 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.9% and closed at a record. Those gains were spurred by optimism around the artificial intelligence trade, which sent Nvidia shares nearly 2% higher to briefly become the first public company to be valued at $4 trillion.
The bullish AI sentiment helped lift stocks as investors moved past the latest developments surrounding Trump’s tariffs. 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.
“AI might be exactly what is needed to counteract any price increases from the tariffs,” said Jeremy Siegel, Wharton School professor of finance and Wisdom Tree chief economist, on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” Wednesday.
“If we don’t hear much bad effects, boy, this bull market certainly, I think, has further to run,” Siegel also said. “If we begin to hear … there’s some hurdles that are harder to overcome, then we’re going to see choppiness, I think, this quarter.”
Concerns over the impact of tariffs, specifically as it relates to inflation and the labor market, also came up in the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting unveiled Wednesday. However, the minutes showed that policymakers were split on how many interest rate cuts the central bank should make over the coming months.
Investors are awaiting more developments on the economic front, as jobless claims data for the week ending July 5 is due out Thursday morning. Economists polled by Dow Jones are expecting an increase of 2,000 to 235,000 from the previous week.
