Wall Street inched lower Friday as uncertainties brought by U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs lingered, threatening to upend markets' bid for a positive week.
Futures for the S&P 500 lost 0.2%, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 0.1%. Nasdaq futures were off by 0.3%.
A winning week would give markets their first back-to-back weekly gains since January.
Shares of athletic wear retailer Lululemon skidded close to 12% in premarket trading after it issued guidance that did not meet analysts' expectations. Another clothing retailer, Oxford Industries, also tumbled 12% before the bell. The owner of the Tommy Bahama brand also beat Wall Street's sales and profit targets, but issued lukewarm guidance it said was negatively impacted by the new administration's tariffs.
Stock markets worldwide will likely remain shaky as an April 2 deadline approaches for more tariffs. That’s what Trump has called “Liberation Day,” when he will roll out tariffs tailored to the United States’ trading partners. In each case, he said the “reciprocal” tariff will match the burden the other country places on the United States, including things like value-added taxes.
“The burning question on every macro trader’s mind is: what’s really lurking behind the reciprocal tariff curtain?” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
Hopes are still high that Trump may ultimately opt for more targeted or milder tariffs that are less painful for the global economy than feared. But even if he does, all the talk about tariffs has already made U.S. consumers and businesses more cautious and pessimistic. If they pull back on their spending, that could hurt the economy. So far, the economy has held steady.
Coming later Friday morning is the U.S. government's report on consumer spending, which contains a gauge of inflation that's closely monitored by the Federal Reserve.
The Fed has paused raising or cutting its benchmark borrowing rate at its last two meetings, citing still sticky inflation, a strong labor market and economic uncertainties brought on by Trump's trade policies.
In Europe at midday, Germany's DAX declined 0.5% and the CAC 40 in France slid 0.4%. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.2%.
Thailand's SET lost 1.1% after a powerful earthquake centered in Myanmar rattled the region, causing the prime minister to declare a state of emergency for the capital, Bangkok.
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 sank 1.8% to 37,120.33 on renewed heavy selling of auto-related shares following Trump’s announcement he plans to impose 25% tariffs on auto imports.
Toyota Motor Corp. shares lost 2.8% while Honda Motor Co. dipped 2.4%.
A report that Tokyo's inflation rate rose to 2.9% this month spurred expectations that the Bank of Japan will likely raise its key interest rate at its May policy board meeting.
In South Korea, the Kospi sank 1.9% to 2,557.98. Hyundai Motor Co. lost 3.5% and Kia Corp.'s shares lost 2.7%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng turned lower, falling 0.7% to 23,426.60. The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.7% to 3,351.31.
Australia's S&P/ASX200 edged 0.2% higher, closing at 7,982.00. Taiwan's Taiex tumbled 1.6%.