NEW YORK, Feb 25 – Wall Street stocks finished mostly lower yesterday ahead of key economic data and earnings as US President Donald Trump signalled plans to proceed with tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
This week’s calendar includes earnings from artificial intelligence giant Nvidia, key US inflation data, and a reading on consumer confidence.
Analysts say these data points could affect investor sentiment, which has been brittle in recent days.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1 percent to 43,461.21.
But the broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.5 percent to 5,983.25, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slid 1.2 percent to 19,286.92.
At a press conference, Trump indicated he plans to move ahead with tariffs on Mexico and Canada once a 30-day suspension expires. The plan is just one of a series of looming tariffs that have been implemented or threatened.
“Markets like certainty,” said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments. “Right now there is high uncertainty.”
Among individual companies, Starbucks rose 1.3 percent as the coffee giant said it would cut 1,100 corporate and administrative jobs as part of a reorganisation under new CEO Brian Niccol.
Apple climbed 0.7 percent after announcing plans to spend more than $500 billion in the United States over the next four years, hire 20,000 workers, and open a new manufacturing facility in Houston focused on artificial intelligence.
But Alibaba tumbled 10.3 percent after announcing plans to spend more than $50 billion on artificial intelligence over the next three years, sparking worries about profitability.
Microsoft dipped one percent on speculation it was scaling back some artificial intelligence investment. – AFP
