NEW YORK MARKET CLOSE: Shares higher ahead of tariff announcement

(Alliance News) - Shares ended higher in New York on Monday ahead of President Trump's tariff remarks, while Tesla shares rebounded following reports that Elon Musk may be exiting from his role at the White House.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 235.36 points, up 0.6%, at 42,225.32. The S&P 500 rose 37.90 points, 0.7%, to 5,670.97. The Nasdaq Composite closed up 151.16 points, 0.9%, to 17,601.05.

Investors on Wednesday braced for US President Trump's long awaited announcement on reciprocal tariffs, though the scope and scale of the levies remain unclear.

The announcement is due at 2100 BST just as Wall Street closes for the day.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that the tariffs would be "effective immediately" following the announcement.

The tariffs are likely to focus on the "dirty 15", as described by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, those countries that account for the most goods traded with the US.

However, reports have said that Trump's advisers are also pitching a 20% across-the-board tariff on all imports, something closer to what Trump promised on the campaign trail.

While some hope the tariff announcement might bring an end to the uncertainty, others aren't so sure.

SPI's Stephen Innes said tariffs are Trump's ultimate bargaining chip, so "this playbook isn't closing anytime soon".

He thinks the key will be the "tone and delivery".

"If the matrix of tariff criteria remains vague or sprawling, don't be surprised if market volatility finds a second gear," he added.

Lloyds Bank analysts said: "In reality, those hoping for the ambiguity to be resolved fully with today's announcements should brace for disappointment. As a hint of this, Trump's press secretary said he is 'always up for a good negotiation', indicating the potential for a series of bilateral engagements to barter rates down over the coming days, weeks and probably months."

While Capital Economics commented: "Even if the tariffs are much larger than expected, unless Trump makes clear that they are intended to be permanent, investors may conclude that they are also likely to be rolled back at least in part. In that case, much of any big initial reaction in equity prices might be swiftly unwound before the stock market settled down again."

Tesla shares rebounded on Wednesday following a report from Politico that Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk may soon retreat from his position in the Trump administration.

The report said while Trump remains pleased with Musk and his DOGE initiative, both men have decided in recent days that it will soon be time for Musk to return to his businesses and take on a supporting role.

White House Press Secretary denied the report, however, calling it "garbage".

Politico sources said Musk is likely to retain an informal role as an adviser and continue to be an occasional face around the White House grounds. Another cautioned that anyone who thinks Musk is going to disappear entirely from Trump's orbit is "fooling themselves."

Tesla earlier reported vehicle production and deliveries fell in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the previous year.

Texas-based Tesla reported total production of 362,615 vehicles in the first quarter of 2025, down from 433,371 the previous year. Tesla also delivered 336,681 vehicles in total, down from 386,810.

Dan Ives at Wedbush wrote on X: "We knew [first quarter] Tesla deliveries would be soft but these numbers were bad. We are not going to look at these numbers with rose coloured glasses...they were a disaster on every metric. Refresh issues but brand crisis key. The time has come for Musk...fork in the road moment for Tesla."

Ives added that Musk needs to "stop this political firestorm and balance being CEO of Tesla with [the Department of Government Efficiency]. The future is so bright but this is a full blown crisis Tesla is navigating now and its primarily self-inflected."

Tesla closed up 5.3%.

Amazon has made a last-minute bid to buy TikTok, which faces a US ban on Saturday if not sold by Chinese owner ByteDance, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

Times sources said the parties involved in the talks did not appear to be taking Amazon's bid seriously, however.

US media reported that Trump plans to meet with top White House officials on Wednesday to discuss possible solutions.

"Although there seems to be nothing to stop Mr Trump extending the deadline for the ban once more, it could be seen as a very public failure," says AJ Bell analyst Danni Hewson.

"And even if a deal is struck there will be intense scrutiny over the small print considering the ban was issued on the grounds of national security concerns."

According to reports, the most likely solution would see existing US investors in ByteDance roll over their stakes into a new independent global TikTok company.

Potential US investors include Oracle, which houses much of TikTok's US activity, and private equity firm Blackstone

The Times said the US groups would be brought on to reduce the proportion of Chinese investors.

Amazon ended up 2.0%.

Oracle gained 2.8%.

Mixed Partial Arts promotion company UFC and Meta have signed a multi-year partnership which will give UFC the ability to use Meta's technology including Meta AI, Meta Glasses, Meta Quest, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads.

The deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, will also see the Meta brand appear in UFC's Octagon, as well as across numerous broadcasts.

Meta and UFC, whose parent company is TKO Group, said they will work together to incorporate Meta's AI glasses into UFC events.

"Meta has the greatest minds in tech, and they are going to take fan engagement to the next level," UFC President & Chief Executive Officer Dana White said in a statement.

UFC head Dana White joined Meta's board of directors in January.

Meta ended down 0.4%.

The pound traded at USD1.3000 late Wednesday, up against USD1.2921 at the New York close on Tuesday. The euro rose to USD1.0886 from USD1.0791. Against the yen, the dollar was at JPY150.32, rising from JPY149.60 on Tuesday.

Brent was quoted at USD75.02 a barrel on Wednesday, up from USD74.47 on Tuesday. West Texas Intermediate rose to USD71.82 from USD71.22.

Gold was quoted at USD3,112.28 an ounce, down from USD3,118.46 late on Tuesday.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 in London closed down 0.3%. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt fell 0.7% and the CAC 40 in Paris eased 0.2%.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo ended up 0.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite firmed 0.1% and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong closed down marginally. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia closed up 0.1%

Thursday's global economic diary has eurozone, China, Japan and US composite PPI. There's also trade balance data, initial jobless claims and ISM services PMI.

By Aidan Lane, Alliance News reporter

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.