**New York (AFP)** – Global stocks were mixed Tuesday as markets monitored congressional progress on Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending legislation and weighed the prospects for US trade deals ahead of Trump’s July 9 tariff deadline. The Republican-led upper congressional chamber narrowly cleared Trump’s mammoth domestic policy bill, sending the measure back to the House of Representatives, where the vote is also expected to be close.
Equity market viewers have cheered the prospects of extending tax cuts while expressing misgivings about projections that the measure will add some $3 trillion to the US national debt. The Dow advanced Tuesday, while both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq retreated from records. Earlier European markets had also ended mixed, while Japan’s Nikkei suffered a 1.2 percent drop after Trump threatened new levies on Japan over a row about the country accepting US rice exports.
“The next few days are going to be testing times for governments in many parts of the world as they try to hammer out trade deals with the US,” said Dan Coatsworth, an investment analyst at AJ Bell. While few trade agreements have been reached so far, the week began with some optimism as Canada and the United States agreed to restart trade talks after Ottawa scrapped a digital services tax contested by US tech giants. Comments from Trump and some of his top officials also suggested the deadline was flexible, and that several pacts were nearly completed.
“We expect risk sentiment to remain shaky until a deal is agreed… investors are on pause for now and are waiting for concrete news before making their next move,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB. The dollar extended its retreat against the euro and other major currencies. The Dollar Index, which compares the greenback to a basket of major currencies, fell 10.8 percent in the first half of the year, its steepest decline since the dollar became the global benchmark currency.
Investors increasingly expect the Federal Reserve to cut rates at least twice this year — with Trump having loudly criticized Fed chief Jerome Powell for not doing so sooner — and all eyes will be on US jobs data due this week. Powell responded on Tuesday at a central bankers’ gathering in Portugal, insisting that the Fed must remain “completely non-political” to successfully pursue its strategy of financial and economic stability.
Among individual companies, Tesla fell 5.3 percent as the electric car company’s CEO Elon Musk sparred with Trump over the tax and spending bill. After Musk lambasted the legislation as wasteful and misguided, Trump warned of retribution against Tesla and other Musk ventures. “This high-profile feud introduces political risk,” Briefing.com said of the tiff. “The personal nature of the conflict, amplified by Trump’s comments implying Tesla’s reliance on subsidies for survival, has sparked fears of broader policy shifts targeting Musk’s business empire. This political uncertainty undermines investor confidence.”
**Key figures at around 2050 GMT**
New York – Dow: UP 0.9 percent at 44,494.94 (close)
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 percent at 6,198.01 (close)
New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.8 percent at 20,202.89 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 8,785.33 points (close)
Paris – CAC 40: FLAT at 7,662.59 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 1.0 percent at 23,673.29 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.2 percent at 39,986.33 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,457.75 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: Closed for holiday
**Currency Exchange Rates**
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1806 from $1.1787 on Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3740 from $1.3732
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 143.41 yen from 144.03 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 85.87 pence from 85.82 pence
**Oil Prices**
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.6 percent at $67.11 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $65.45 per barrel
© 2024 AFP
