MANILA, Philippines — Just hours after hitting all-time highs, Wall Street was poised to open with losses on Friday, a possible sign that President Donald Trump's wave of tariff letters is again raising concern among investors.
Futures for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell 0.5% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 0.6%.
Trump said in a letter Thursday that he will raise taxes on many imported goods from Canada to 35%, deepening the rift between the longtime North American allies. The letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is an aggressive increase to the top 25% tariff rates that Trump first imposed in March.
''Just as the market was catching its breath at new highs — drunk on Nvidia fumes and blissfully ignoring the dollar's quiet groan — President Trump tugged the rug again,'' Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
''Asian equities, initially hopeful, wilted into flat lines as if someone had pulled the plug on the optimism generator. There's a growing sense now that risk has become radioactive — tradable, but only in hazmat gloves,'' Innes added.
Following weeks of anxiety and wild swings in the market spurred by Trump's tariff rollouts in the spring, markets have been relatively stable the past couple of months, steadily rising to record levels.
Meanwhile, bitcoin climbed to a new all-time high Friday, briefly eclipsing $118,000 before settling around $117,600.
The token's price jump came amid bullish momentum across risk assets and coincides with Nvidia's surge to a $4 trillion valuation. It also comes days before the U.S. Congress' Crypto Week on July 14, where lawmakers will debate a series of bills that could define the regulatory framework for the industry.