Canadian tariffs, Nvidia’s milestone, Bitcoin - what’s moving markets

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures retreated Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced additional tariffs on Canadian imports, raising fears of increased duties on other trading partners, causing a hit to global trade. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA)’s market capitalization broke through the $4 trillion level, while Bitcoin also registered record highs.

1. Trump imposes 35% tariff on Canada

U.S. President Donald Trump continued his assault on the global trade status quo late Thursday, saying the U.S. would impose a 35% tariff on Canadian imports next month and planned to impose blanket tariffs of 15% or 20% on most other trading partners.

Trump told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, in a letter released on his social media platform, the new rate would go into effect on August 1 and would go up if Canada retaliated.

The 35% tariff is an increase from the current 25% rate that Trump had previously assigned to Canada, although an exclusion for goods covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade was expected to stay in place, and 10% tariffs on energy and fertilizer were also not set to change.

Trump has broadened his trade war in recent days, setting new tariffs on a number of countries, including allies Japan and South Korea, along with a 50% tariff on copper.

2. U.S. futures slip on trade worries

U.S. stock futures slipped lower Friday, retreating from record levels after President Trump’s latest trade announcement stirred concerns over global economic growth. 

At 03:20 ET (07:20 GMT), the S&P 500 futures traded 26 points, or 0.4%, lower Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 42 points, or 0.2%, and Dow futures fell 200 points, or 0.5%.

The main Wall Street indices ended higher Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite posing new closing records, but sentiment has been jolted by President Trump announcing that a 35% tariff rate would be imposed on all Canadian goods from August 1.

The major averages are on pace to end the week little changed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hovering just under the flat line on a weekly basis and the S&P and Nasdaq higher by less than 1%.

Markets are now focusing on whether Trump now loses patience with the European Union, with EU officials saying they were aiming for a deal before August 1.

3. Nvidia breaks through $4 trillion barrier

Nvidia ended trading on Thursday with a market value of over $4 trillion for the first time, cementing the AI chipmaker’s status as the world’s most valuable company.

Shares of Nvidia finished the trading session with a market capitalization of $4.004 trillion, with its shares now up 89% from their lows in April, and is the first company ever to close above this mark having briefly exceeded the level during Wednesday’s session. 

The achievement comes amid continued strong demand for artificial-intelligence technologies that power Nvidia’s business. 

"We reinvented computing for the first time since the 60s, since IBM (NYSE:IBM) introduced the modern computer architecture," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, discussing the milestone. "And over the last 33 years, we’ve been working on reinventing computing. And the last five years, it really took off."

4. Bitcoin surges to record levels

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, surged to record highs on Friday, topping $118,000, propelled by robust institutional interest and crypto-friendly policies under President Trump. 

At 03:20 ET, Bitcoin soared 5.6% to $117,670, after climbing as high as $118,320 earlier in the session. 

The milestones come amid growing demand from institutional investors for moving bitcoin into treasury portfolios and ETFs.

U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs saw $1.18 billion in net inflows as of Thursday, marking their sixth straight day of sharp gains, according to SoSoValue. Total (EPA:TTEF) trading volume across the 12 bitcoin ETFs hit $6.3 billion, the highest daily level since late May.

President Trump’s administration, earlier this year, approved a strategic Bitcoin reserve, stoking a favorable regulatory tone.

Adding to the optimism, a key Chinese regulator held a strategic meeting this week to guide local government officials on stablecoin and digital currency policy, reports and social media posts showed on Friday, marking a shift in China’s stance towards digital currencies. 

5. Crude gains on Russian sanctions speculation

Oil prices rose Friday on growing expectations of additional sanctions on Russia, although gains have been capped by tariff worries and increased OPEC+ production. 

At 03:20 ET, Brent futures climbed 0.4% to $68.94 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.6% to $66.96 a barrel.

Both contracts lost more than 2% on Thursday as investors worried about the impact of Trump’s evolving tariff policy on global economic growth and oil demand.

However, sentiment has received a boost after Trump expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin due to the lack of progress on peace with Ukraine, raising the potential for further sanctions on the major oil producer.

(Reuters contributed reporting.)