Global Markets Mixed Amid Rush to Secure Tariff Deals

By Dow Jones Newswires Staff

U.S. stock futures edged lower and global equities were narrowly mixed as investors digested President Donald Trump's latest salvos on tariffs and as trading partners rush to secure deals.

A day after the U.S. sent letters to 14 countries announcing so-called reciprocal tariffs under a new Aug. 1 deadline, sector-specific duties are back in the spotlight.

Trump announced a hefty 50% tariff on copper that could kick in by Aug. 1 or sooner and floated levies on pharmaceutical products and semiconductors.

• Futures tied to U.S. indexes were slightly lower. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were all down about 0.1% ahead of FOMC minutes later Wednesday.
• In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.1% in morning trading. France's CAC 40 increased 0.4% and Germany's DAX climbed 0.3%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.1%. WPP sank over 13% after it said it expects continued macro uncertainty to weigh on client spending. Asian stock markets closed mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.3%, whereas Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 1.2%.
• The three-month LME copper contract in London fell 1.5% to $9,642.50 a ton Wednesday morning after front-month U.S. copper futures rose to an all-time high overnight. "This is a watershed moment for the copper market," Citi Research analysts said, as Trump's proposed tariff will abruptly shut the window for U.S.-bound copper shipments.
• The dollar was up against a basket of major currencies early in Europe, as the 90-day pause to the implementation of U.S. reciprocal tariffs boosts hopes for trade deals. The DXY dollar rose 0.1% to 97.616.
• Upward pressure on bond yields continued in the U.S., Japan and Europe, accompanied by continued steepening of the gap between short- and long-dated bonds. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was down 0.4 basis point at 4.413%, according to Tradeweb; the 10-year Bund yield hit 2.730% after opening at the highest level since end-March.
• Brent crude hovered around $70 a barrel but uncertainty surrounding President Trump's erratic tariff agenda and its impact on demand continues to cloud the outlook. Brent and WTI both were up 0.5% to $70.49 and $68.68 a barrel, respectively. Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed U.S. inventories rose by 1.7 million barrels last week--the largest increase since January if confirmed by the EIA later on Wednesday.

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