Tariff timeline, chip stock slide, inflation jitters: 3 things
00:00 Speaker A
Let’s kick things off with what you need to know before the opening bell rings by taking a look at futures. It’s a bit of a mixed picture this morning with futures tied to the tech heavy Nasdaq down about 0.2%. You can see Dow Jones Industrial average futures a little bit above the flat line, but largely stocks relatively flat this morning. That roaring rally in US stocks has pressed pause as traders reassess their expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts and bond yields have moved higher following a Tuesday inflation report that showed price increases accelerated in June. The 10-year Treasury yield has added nearly 15 basis points in the past week and is now approaching the key level at 4 and a half percent where it sometimes weighed on US equities. And meanwhile, the 30-year Treasury yield has surpassed 5% for the first time since late May. Tariffs remain a key part of this story, of course, as investors wait for more updates on President Trump’s trade plans and assess how those new duties could potentially keep inflation higher. On Tuesday, Trump said levies on pharmaceutical companies will quote probably come at the end of July, while adding that tariffs on semiconductors will likely be implemented on a quote similar timeline. Despite that tariff back and forth, portion portions of the tech trade have continued to chug higher. Nvidia closed at a record high on Tuesday above 170 bucks a share, as the company said it hopes to begin selling H20 AI chips in China soon. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang spoke briefly at an exhibition in Beijing on Wednesday, telling the audience AI models from Chinese firms, Deepseek, Alibaba, and Tencent are quote, world class. After an aggressive rally on Tuesday, though, chip makers are taking a step back Wednesday morning. That’s following quarterly results from ASML. The supplier of computer chip making equipment said it may not achieve growth in 2026. ASML notes macroeconomic uncertainty and geopolitical developments are weighing on the outlook. Shares of the chip LinkedIn fell more than 7% in pre-market trading following the release. Also weighing on shares of Micron, AMD, and Marvell. You can see Marvell down nearly 2%.
