Trump declares 50% tariff on copper, Brazil: Morning Buzz

The major averages were mixed near noon, with the Dow and S&P 500 buoyed by strong tech earnings and positive signals from the Fed’s June meeting. President Trump’s decision to impose 50% tariffs on copper and Brazilian imports, which take effect August 1, also weighs on the indices. 

Markets are treading water amidst headline risk from tariffs, but the combination of tech megacap strength, airlines’ upbeat earnings, and robust commodity flows is keeping sentiment positive. Focus now turns to economic data and Fed communication.

Looking to commodities, gold prices are fractionally higher again, edging a little closer to the $3,400 threshold. Meanwhile, oil prices have fallen sharply following multiple days of gains.

Check out this morning’s top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly. Also, subscribe to the daily Fly By on YouTube if you want to know how the markets will open, which stocks will be moving and why.

1. STOCK NEWS:

• President Trump declared a 50% tariff on copper, effective August 1
• Meanwhile, Trump also announced fresh tariffs on a number of countries on Wednesday, including a 50% tariff on all products sent to the U.S. from Brazil, citing a “witch hunt” against the country’s former president Jair Bolsonaro
• Delta Air Lines (DAL) reported upbeat Q2 results, restored its FY25 guidance, and announced a 25% increase to its quarterly dividend
• MP Materials (MP) entered into a public-private partnership with the Pentagon to dramatically accelerate the build-out of an end-to-end U.S. rare earth magnet supply chain and reduce foreign dependency
• ASE Technology (ASX) reported an 11.2% year-over-year increase in Q2 revenue

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Goldman Sachssemiconductor and electronic design automation software group
• Piper Sandler (PIPR) upgraded to Outperform at Wolfe Research, here’s why
• KeyBanc upgraded Roku (ROKU) to Overweight from Sector Weight
• Needham downgraded CoreWeave (CRWV) to Hold from Buy without a price target
• Coinbasee (COIN) double downgraded to Sell at H.C. Wainwright on valuation

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Ford Motor (F) recently said a $3B plant it is building in Marshall, Michigan to produce EV batteries will still qualify for federal tax credits due to last-minute tweaks in the big budget and policy bill recently passed by Congress, NYT says
• Tesla (TSLA) plans to expand its robotaxi service to the San Francisco Bay Area within “a month or two,” depending on regulatory approvals, Reuters reports
• Amazon (AMZN) is debating on making another multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, FT says
• Meta (META) offered Ruoming Pang a more than $200M pay package over a several-year period in line with Meta’s other major AI hires, and Apple (AAPL) didn’t try to match the offer, Bloomberg says
• Autodesk (ADSK) is working with advisers to evaluate a cash-and-stock buyout of PTC (PTC), Bloomberg says

4. MOVERS:

• XCF Global (SAFX) gains after announcing its plan to invest close to $1B in developing a network of SAF production facilities
• Polestar (PSNY) increases in New York after reporting Q2 retail sales volumes
• Mereo BioPharma (MREO) and Ultragenyx (RARE) decline in New York after receiving a DMC recommendation to continue Orbit study
• K Wave Media (KWM) falls in New York after securing a $1B capital capacity to drive its bitcoin treasury strategy
• Bloom Energy (BE) lower after announcing a 10M share offering

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• InMode (INMD) provided guidance for Q2 and cut its outlook for FY25
• Conagra Brands (CAG) reported Q4 results, with EPS and revenue missing consensus
• Simply Good Foods (SMPL) announces results for Q3, with EPS beating consensus
• Helen of Troy (HELE) reported Q1 results, with interim CEO Brian Grass commenting, “The first quarter was challenging, with tariff-related impacts… That said, we are encouraged by underlying business improvements”
• Northern Technologies (NTIC) reported Q3 results, with EPS lower year-over-year

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 234.73, or 0.53%, to 44,693.03, the Nasdaq was down 5.28, or 0.026%, to 20,606.06, and the S&P 500 was up 14.42, or 0.23%, to 6,277.68.