US futures jump while Asian shares slip after Trump delays tariffs on the EU

Trader Robert Oswaldworks on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (AP/Richard Drew)

US futures jumped and Asian shares mostly fell on Monday after US President Donald Trump said he would delay a threatened 50% tariff on goods from the European Union to July 9 from June 1.

Mr Trump announced the decision after a call on Sunday with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, who said she “wants to get down to serious negotiations”, according to the US president’s retelling.

Last week, Mr Trump said on social media that trade talks with the European Union “were going nowhere” and that “straight 50%” tariffs could go into effect on June 1.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The future for the S&P 500 gained 1% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.8%.

In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.7% to 37,427.48 while the Kospi in Seoul picked up 1.2% to 2,622.07.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1% to 23,370.94, and the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3% to 3,338.42.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was nearly unchanged at 8,360.70.

Other regional markets were mostly lower.

On Friday, US stocks fell as traders weighed whether Mr Trump’s latest threats were just negotiating tactics.

The S&P 500 lost 0.7% to 5,802.82 to close out its worst week in the last seven. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6% to 41,603.07, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1% to 18,737.21.

Apple dropped 3% and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500 after Mr Trump said he has been pushing Apple chief executive Tim Cook to move production of iPhones to the United States.

He warned that a tariff “of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US” if it does not.

Mr Trump later clarified his post to say that all smartphones made abroad would be taxed, and the tariffs could be coming as soon as the end of June.

“It would be also Samsung and anybody that makes that product,” Mr Trump said.

“Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair.”

Mr Trump has been criticising companies individually when he is frustrated with how they are acting because of his tariffs and because of the uncertainty his trade war has created.

The curve of the German stock index DAX is seen on a screen at the stock exchange in Frankfurt (AP/Michael Probst)

He earlier told Walmart it should “eat the tariffs”, along with China, after the retailer said it would likely have to raise prices to cover the increased cost of imports.

Deckers Outdoor, the company behind the Hoka and Uggs brands, became one of the latest companies to say all the uncertainty around the economy means it would not offer financial forecasts for the full upcoming year.

Its stock shed 19.9%, even though the company reported a stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected.

Ross Stores fell 9.8% after it pulled its financial forecasts for the full year, citing that more than half the goods it sells originate in China.

On the winning side of Wall Street was Intuit, which rose 8.1% after the company behind TurboTax and Credit Karma reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Stocks in the nuclear industry also rallied after Mr Trump signed executive orders to speed up nuclear licensing decisions, among other measures meant to charge up the industry. Oklo, which is developing fast fission power plants, jumped 23%.

Mr Trump’s latest tariff threats stirred up Wall Street after it had recovered most of the losses it had earlier taken because of the trade war.

The S&P 500 dropped roughly 20% below its record at one point last month, when worries were at their height about whether Mr Trump’s stiff tariffs would cause a global recession.

The index then climbed back within 3% of its all-time high after Mr Trump paused his tariffs on many countries, most notably China.