The first full week of trading in 2025 was set to begin with US stocks higher after a report from the Washington Post suggested a softening in Trump’s tariff plans could be coming as his administration takes power this month.
As The Post’s Jeff Stein reports: “[Trump’s] aides are still discussing plans to impose import duties on goods from every country, the people said. But rather than apply tariffs to all imports, the current discussions center on imposing them only on certain sectors deemed critical to national or economic security…”
After his election win in the fall, Trump pledged to impose a blanket tariff of up to 20% on all imports — from all trading partners — with even stiffer levies targeted at some countries, like Mexico, Canada, and China.
The stock market’s shaky finish to 2024 was, in part, attributable to the uncertainty of these policies and Trump’s broader economic agenda heading into 2025.
Last month, the Fed revised its outlook for rate cuts in 2025, with Chair Jay Powell saying during a press conference that the impact of Trump’s tariffs during his first administration — which prompted a more aggressive interest rate hiking cycle and a market sell-off in 2018 — was “a good starting point” for thinking about Trump 2.0.
Ahead of Monday’s open, futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq were up about 1% while S&P 500 futures rose 0.8%. Dow futures were up closer to 0.4%.
The dollar index, which has traded to two-year highs since Trump’s election win, was off about 1% early Monday.
