Wall St poised for sluggish start to busy week; Tariff threats dent sentiment

Jul 14, 2025 .
- Admin

Wall Street looked set for a lower open on Monday as President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats against the EU and Mexico dampened investor sentiment, in a week loaded with economic data and the start of second-quarter earnings.

Trump ramped up trade tensions over the weekend, vowing to slap a 30% tariff on most imports from the European Union and Mexico starting August 1 - a move that leaves the clock ticking for last-minute trade deals.

The EU extended its pause on retaliatory measures until early August, holding out hope for a negotiated truce.

Trump’s latest salvo follows last week’s tariff offensive, which targeted the United States’ close allies like Canada, Japan, and South Korea, and a 50% duty on copper.

At 8:21 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 120 points, or 0.27%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 16.75 points, or 0.27% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 59 points, or 0.26%.

Yet, investors barely flinched, having grown accustomed to Trump’s tariff threats and his track record of last-minute reversals.

On Friday, the S&P 500 receded from an all-time high it hit the day before, and closed lower. It capped last week with modest losses.

"While tariff-driven market volatility has calmed down in recent months, we are not out of the woods just yet, as the next few weeks will be pivotal to see how countries respond to the administration’s new August 1 tariff deadline," said Glen Smith, chief investment officer, GDS Wealth Management.

Now, Wall Street’s resilience faces a new test this week as the second-quarter earnings season kicks off, with banking giants JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Wells Fargo, and Citigroup (NYSE:C) reporting on Tuesday.

"The big question for markets is can earnings overshadow the tariff issues," Smith added.

The market will also be poring over June’s consumer price data, hunting for any early signs of tariff-fueled inflation. Meanwhile, producer and import price reports are due on Wednesday and retail sales figures are due on Thursday.

RBC Capital Markets raised its year-end S&P 500 target to 6,250 - its second upgrade this year - pointing to upbeat investor sentiment and optimism about the economic outlook through 2026.

Also on the docket are at least seven Federal Reserve officials due to speak through the week.

Amid the economic data deluge, traders have almost entirely ruled out a July rate cut from the Fed, though the odds for a September move still hover around 60%.

Investors are also keeping a close watch on tensions between the White House and the U.S. central bank, after economic adviser Kevin Hassett said over the weekend that Trump might have cause to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, citing cost overruns from the central bank’s headquarters renovation.

Among stocks, Boeing (NYSE:BA) rose 1.4% in premarket trading after a preliminary report from the Air India crash probe suggested no immediate action against the planemaker.

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) gained 5.3% after the Tylenol maker’s CEO, Thibaut Mongon, stepped down amid push by activist investors to boost performance.

Crypto stocks ticked up after bitcoin topped $120,000 for the first time. Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) global rose 1.6%, while Bitfarms gained 4.7%. Strategy advanced 2.5%, while Riot platforms was up 2.7%.