Daily summary: Equities and USD Retreat on Trump’s Alleged Hardline EU Tariff Stance (18.07.2025)

Wall Street turned red following a report by the Financial Times that Donald Trump wants to firmly maintain tariffs on the European Union above the current 10%. The Dow Jones and Russell 2000 are the biggest losers (both -0.5%), while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 are trading around 0.15% lower.

Donald Trump is pushing for a minimum tariff of 15–20% on all EU goods, raising his demands in ongoing trade talks, according to the Financial Times. Despite weeks of negotiations aimed at setting a baseline tariff of 10%, Trump remains unmoved by EU concessions, including an offer to reduce car tariffs.

European market sentiment was mixed today. Germany’s DAX pulled back by 0.3%, France’s CAC40 and Spain’s IBEX35 traded flat, while the UK’s FTSE 100 (+0.2%) and Italy’s FTSE MIB (+0.46%) posted gains.

Christopher Waller, a Fed member and considered a potential successor to Jerome Powell, expressed support for an interest rate cut at the July meeting. Waller emphasized that his views are not politically motivated, even though they align with President Trump’s calls for deep rate cuts.

University of Michigan (UoM) data indicated fading concerns about long-term inflation expectations.

American Express (AXP.US) beat expectations for Q2 2025, reporting $416.3 billion in settled transactions thanks to strong demand for premium cards. Revenue rose 9.3% to $17.9 billion. Amex reaffirmed its 2025 outlook and announced an upcoming update to the Platinum Card.

Cocoa prices are rebounding after a sharp drop yesterday, which pushed prices to an 8-month low. The recovery appears to be a technical bounce, as no new fundamental information has emerged. It's worth noting that while supply conditions are improving, the market remains tight.

On the forex market: the U.S. dollar is pulling back against most G10 currencies (USDIDX: -0.2%). The exception is the Japanese yen (USDJPY: +0.1%), which continues to weaken ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections. The strongest performers are the Antipodean currencies (AUDUSD: +0.35%; NZDUSD: +0.55%) and the Swiss franc (USDCHF: -0.35%). EURUSD is rebounding 0.25% today to 1.1625.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a package of key crypto-related bills backed by President Donald Trump. Despite this, major cryptocurrencies are down today, with Bitcoin dropping nearly 2.3% ahead of the weekend.On the other hand, smaller tokens are trading in the green (Sushi: +25%, Dogecoin: +10%, Chainlink: +4.5%) along with Ethereum, which continues its rally with another 3.6% gain.

A slight uptick in market uncertainty is also lifting precious metals prices. Gold is up nearly 0.35% today, while silver is rising by around 0.2%.