In an interview with Time Magazine that marked his 100th day in office, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he expects to finalize new trade deals with other countries within the next three to four weeks. He mentioned that he has already made about 200 deals and plans to set what he believes are fair tariff rates for each country. The interview, which was dated April 22, was published on Friday.
Trump defended his trade policies, even though they have caused financial market volatility and pushed foreign governments to rush to Washington for negotiations. He gave mixed signals about talks with China, saying, “We’re meeting with China. We’re doing fine with everybody,” even though China has said no formal talks are happening. It is worth noting that earlier this month, Trump raised tariffs but paused new reciprocal tariffs for 90 days for more than 75 countries that reached out for talks. However, he still kept 10% baseline tariffs during this time.
Trump also rejected reports that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick convinced him to delay the new tariffs. He said it was his decision alone and downplayed any concerns about the market’s negative reaction. “They didn’t tell me. I did that,” Trump said. “The bond market was getting the yips, but I wasn’t.” Indeed, the bond market experienced a sharp 67 basis-point selloff in a week before the tariffs were delayed.
Is SPY a Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) based on 406 Buys, 91 Holds, and seven Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average SPY price target of $642.39 per share implies 16.7% upside potential.
