The US market opened lower on Friday as US President Donald Trump threatened Apple and the EU with tariffs.
The benchmark S&P 500 fell 1.01% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index was down 1.31%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.92%.
US markets have declined for four straight sessions.
Apple’s shares fell 2.36% in the session after the tariff comments came. It was the highest loser in the Dow Jones index.
Shares of Nvidia, Amazon, and Microsoft were also trading down between 1% and 2%.
Intuit Inc was the top gainer in the opening minutes with a 9% surge.
The tax software company’s shares gained after it posted a good full-year outlook.
The company increased adjusted earnings to $20.07 to $20.12 per share from the previous guidance of $19.16 to $19.36 per share.
This was above the analyst’s expectation of $19.40 per share.
Nuclear stocks bucked the trend after a Reuters report claimed that Trump would soon sign orders that would benefit the nuclear energy sector.
This includes faster approvals for new reactors and strengthening fuel supply chains.
Oklo shares rallied 24% while Nuscale gained 16%.
Constellation Energy
Tariffs back on the menu
Trump brought back the tariff talks on Friday.
He threatened Apple with 25% tariffs for every iPhone made outside and sold in the US.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said Apple needs to manufacture iPhones in the US if they want to sell them in the US.
This marks the first instance where Trump is threatening a single company over tariffs.
The US president wasn’t done, as he also said that the US would put a 50% tariff on the EU from June 1.
According to Trump, the EU “has been difficult to deal with,” and the trade negotiations have been going nowhere.
Along with the US markets, European markets also slipped after Trump’s tariff announcements.
European stocks fell sharply, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index down 1.9%. Germany’s DAX dropped 2.3%, France’s CAC 40 fell 2.8%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 lost 1.3%.
Meltdown in the bond market
The US 30-year bond yield had spiked over 5.1% earlier in the week.
The bond market was spooked after concerns over spiralling US debt, as Moody’s downgraded US sovereign debt along with a new tax bill from the US government, which is expected to add more to the debt.
Trump’s tax bill was passed narrowly in the House of Representatives on Thursday by a 215-214 vote.
The bill will now undergo debate in the Senate, where Republican lawmakers are already pushing for important changes.
The bill is expected to add $4 trillion to the US debt.
The tax plan is drafting cuts on Medicaid and food stamps, which have concerned lawmakers expressing concerns over reducing programs that help low-income Americans.
The cuts are expected to further dent consumer sentiment as income inequality is expected to increase.
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