US: Nasdaq edges to record as Dow, S&P 500 retreat

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks finished mostly lower on Tuesday despite another Nasdaq record as President Donald Trump announced a US trade deal with Indonesia ahead of a deadline still facing numerous other countries.

All Indonesian goods entering the United States will encounter a 19 per cent tariff, below the 32 per cent previously threatened, according to a Trump social media post.

But the deal comes as US negotiations remain unresolved with some two dozen other trading partners, with the looming US threat of steep tariffs from Aug 1.

High stock market prices “may be emboldening the administration to keep up the bluster on tariffs,” said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management, who characterized most of the most recent Trump trade headlines as unfavorable.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.0 per cent to 44,023.29.

The broad-based S&P declined 0.4 per cent to 6,243.76, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.2 per cent to finish at a second straight record at 20,677.80.

The Nasdaq record came as Nvidia announced it would resume sales of its H20 artificial intelligence chips to China, after Washington pledged to remove licensing curbs that had put a stop to exports.

Shares of Nvidia rose four per cent.

Markets also digested data showing an uptick in inflation. The consumer price index was up 2.7 per cent from a year ago in June, rising from 2.4 per cent in May in a move that likely showed some effect from tariffs.

Analysts described the report as mixed, with inflation rising enough to stay a concern, but not so much as to confirm the worst-case outcomes for tariffs.

Several large banks also reported strong earnings, though shares of Wells Fargo fell 5.3 per cent following a disappointing forecast for net interest income, a closely watched benchmark.

But Citigroup jumped 3.6 per cent after it topped analyst estimates by a wide margin.

Meanwhile, MP Materials surged 20 per cent after announcing a US$500 million long-term agreement to supply Apple with rare earth magnets. The disclosure comes after the rare earth company last week announced that the US Pentagon had taken a stake in the company.

Apple advanced 0.2 per cent. AFP