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E-mail Xinhua, February 1, 2025
U.S. stocks dived on Friday, after the White House confirmed that tariffs on Mexico and Canada would take effect on Saturday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 337.47 points, or 0.75 percent, to 44,544.66. The S&P 500 sank 30.64 points, or 0.50 percent, to 6,040.53. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 54.31 points, or 0.28 percent, to 19,627.44.
Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with energy and technology leading the laggards by losing 2.74 percent and 0.79 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, communication services and consumer discretionary led the gainers by going up 0.74 percent and 0.09 percent, respectively.
Markets initially climbed but retreated after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the final details of the tariffs would be made public over the weekend. President Donald Trump is set to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports.
On social media, Trump also warned BRICS countries that they will face 100 percent tariffs if they replace the dollar with their own joint currency or another. U.S. dollar rose and headed for its best week since November.
"This is very similar to what we saw on Monday, with DeepSeek, right? So there was the news; the first reaction was to sell," said Tom Hainlin, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Asset Management Group.
"There's the initial reaction to the headlines about tariffs. We have no details about them. We have no details about the percent, whether they're temporary or permanent," Hainlin said. "Our perspective is we'll wait, and find out when the actual policy is implemented."
The December personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, rose 0.3 percent from November and 2.6 percent year over year, which matches economists' expectations but accelerating from November's 2.4 percent annual pace.
The uptick has raised concerns that inflation may remain sticky. Excluding food and energy, core PCE increased 0.2 percent month over month and 2.8 percent annually, reinforcing the Fed's cautious stance on potential rate cuts.
On the corporate front, Apple saw early gains after the company topped fiscal first-quarter expectations, with strong services revenue offsetting weaker iPhone sales. However, the stock ultimately closed down 0.67 percent. Meanwhile, energy giants Chevron and Exxon Mobil declined 4.56 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively, after posting disappointing fourth-quarter results.
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