Linea Mercati Interview 3/4/25
March 5, 2025Linea Mercati Interview 3/5/25
March 6, 2025Washington (awp/afp) – The New York Stock Exchange rose on Wednesday, welcoming with optimism the comments of the American Secretary of Commerce on possible adjustments to the customs duties put in place by Washington.
Around 15:10 GMT, the Dow Jones gained 0.54%, the Nasdaq index gained 0.40% and the broader S&P 500 index advanced 0.36%.
The American Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, assured Wednesday, during an interview granted to Bloomberg TV, that certain sectors of activity could finally be spared by the customs duties imposed on Canadian and Mexican products, assuring that the decision should be made during the day.
“It’s the president who decides, but we expect that some sectors” will ultimately be spared, said Mr. Lutnick, specifying that the announcement should be made in the afternoon.
A first gesture of appeasement as Donald Trump had threatened Tuesday to go further on Canadian imports if Ottawa implemented retaliatory measures.
Since Tuesday, imports from Canada and Mexico have been taxed at a rate of 25%, and 10% for Canadian hydrocarbons. Chinese products are hit by additional customs duties of 20% compared to the taxation in effect before Donald Trump returned to the White House.
Canada responded by “immediate” implementing targeted customs duties of 25% on certain American products, while Beijing announced on Tuesday taxes of 10% and 15% on a series of agricultural products from the United States, ranging from chicken to soybeans.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has vowed “tariff and non-tariff” retaliation.
Investors welcomed fresh U.S. employment data early Wednesday, with private sector hiring slowing sharply in February in the United States, according to the ADP/Stanford Lab monthly survey released Wednesday, which cited the political environment as a factor.
Last month, net job creations were recorded by this indicator, down from 186,000 in January (an upwardly revised figure).
Analysts had expected a much smaller slowdown, with around 148,000 creations, according to the consensus published by MarketWatch.
This slowdown “will be interpreted as a sign of slowing U.S. growth” and is therefore causing a significant movement in the bond market, Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com noted in a note.
Around 15:00 GMT, the yield on ten-year US government bonds eased sharply to 4.18% compared to 4.24% at the close on Tuesday.
The publication of this indicator “erodes some of the enthusiasm generated by Commerce Secretary Lutnick’s comments,” Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities told AFP.
On the agenda on Wednesday, the American central bank (Fed) will publish its Beige Book, a regular survey of business leaders across the United States.
“This will probably reinforce the idea that the (American, editor’s note) economy is losing momentum,” anticipates Peter Cardillo.
On the stock market, cybersecurity specialist CrowdStrike fell sharply (-10.80%) after publishing forecasts that were generally below analysts’ expectations, estimating that it could achieve net earnings per share between $3.33 and $3.45 for the current financial year.
The ready-to-wear brand Abercrombie & Fitch was shunned (-14.56%) after sharing forecasts that were lower than market expectations, anticipating net earnings per share of between $1.25 and $1.45 compared to around $1.97 expected by analysts.
Sports equipment chain Foot Locker, on the other hand, benefited from the publication of a net profit per share higher than expected for the fourth quarter of 2024, despite mixed results. Its share price climbed by 9.27%.
