Stock market today: S&P 500 slumps as Trump reignites US-China trade war fears

Investing.com - The S&P 500 on Friday suffered its biggest one-day slump since April, after President Donald Trump threat to impose a "massive increase" of tariffs on China imports amid dispute over rare earth metals renewed fears of a U.S.-China trade war.

At 4:00 p.m. ET (20:00 GMT), the benchmark S&P 500 fell 2.7%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 3.6%, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 840 points, or 1.9%.

Trump threatens to hike tariffs on China; rare earth stocks surge

Trump said his administration is mulling retaliatory measures against China that could include a "massive increase" of tariffs on China imports after Beijing restricted exports of rare earths to the United States.

“I will be forced, as President of the United States of America, to financially counter their move,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. “One of the Policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America. There are many other countermeasures that are, likewise, under serious consideration.”

US consumer sentiment largely steady - survey

U.S. consumer sentiment was little changed in October, but more upbeat than anticipated, while one-year inflation expectations ebbed yet remained elevated.

A monthly report from the University of Michigan showed that its consumer sentiment index came in at 55.0, compared to 55.1 in September. Economists had predicted a reading of 54.1.

Improvements in current personal finances and year-ahead business conditions were offset by declines in expectations for household pocketbooks and buying conditions for durable goods, said Joanne Hsu, Surveys of Consumers Director at the University of Michigan.

"Overall, consumers perceive very few changes in the outlook for the economy from last month. Pocketbook issues like high prices and weakening job prospects remain at the forefront of consumers’ minds. At this time, consumers do not expect meaningful improvement in these factors," Hsu added.

There was also minimal evidence that an ongoing federal government shutdown, which has entered its second week, has swayed consumers’ views of the economy, Hsu said.

The economic calendar has recently been largely quiet, with the federal government shutdown delaying the release of key official indicators.

Should lawmakers in Washington fail to resolve a now more than week-old standoff, more numbers could be postponed, namely crucial U.S. inflation data next week. Media reports have said the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the agency responsible for putting together the inflation figures, is planning to bring back furloughed workers to get the data out, although exactly when it would be published was unclear. 

A lack of fresh trackers of prices and job growth has particularly complicated how the Federal Reserve plans to approach future interest rate decisions. The central bank slashed rates by 25 basis points last month and signaled that it could roll out further drawdowns this year, but without up-to-date data, the timing and scope of these moves remains murky.

Instead, policymakers have turned to secondary or alternative sources of information. One such gauge, a survey of consumer sentiment and inflation expectations from the University of Michigan, is due out on Friday.

Applied Digital, Levi Strauss impress on earnings stage 

Shares of Applied Digital surged by more than 16%, after the data center services provider posted better-than-anticipated fiscal first-quarter revenue.

Demand for data centers has skyrocketed as more businesses race to snap up the computing power needed to fuel their AI capabilities.

In August, Applied Digital notched a new lease agreement with AI-related group CoreWeave, while analysts have suggested that the firm may secure additional deals before the end of 2025.

For the quarter ended on August 31, revenue grew by 84% to $64.2 million, surpassing Wall Street estimates of $50 million, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. Applied Digital’s per-share loss of $0.03 was also smaller than anticipated.

Levi Strauss & Co raised its full-year revenue and profit forecast as it reported a strong quarterly result, helped by solid demand for its denim offerings and strong direct-to-consumer sales.

The jeans maker reported third-quarter earnings of $0.34 per share, beating analysts’ average estimate of $0.30 a piece. Revenue rose to $1.54 billion from $1.50 billion a year earlier, also above expectations.

Levi said it now expects fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings of $1.27 to $1.32 per share, compared with its prior view of $1.25 to $1.30.

Its outlook for reported net revenue growth was also increased to about 3% from a prior range of 1% to 2%, and organic growth to roughly 6% from 4.5% to 5.5%.

But shares tumbled by over 10%. Analysts at Vital Knowledge said that while the firm "continues to execute very well in a touch macro environment," expectations were "fairly high" going in to the results, "which might explain some of the knee-jerk disappointment."

Gold rebounds after falling below $4,000

Gold prices inched up on Friday, rebounding from earlier losses, as the yellow metal remained on track to rise for an eight straight week thanks to enduring safe-haven demand and expectations for upcoming U.S. interest rate cuts.

Spot gold rose 0.2% to $3,985.41 an ounce, while gold futures for December added 1.4% to $4,026.00/oz in recent trade.

Spot prices crossed $4,000/oz for the first time ever this week, hitting fresh all-time peaks along the way. Over the past one-year period, it has climbed by more than 51%.

Analysts have highlighted a range of factors underpinning the increase, including heavy central bank demand for bullion in the wake of the freezing of Russian assets after the outbreak of fighting in Ukraine in 2022, relatively modest growth in the amount of new gold being mined, and a spike in retail investment activity that has sparked inflows into gold-linked exchange traded funds.

However, gold clocked steep overnight losses that brought it below the $4,000 level after the signing of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. The deal is the first phase of a 20-point peace plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. At the same time, delayed economic data during an ongoing U.S. government clouded the outlook for Federal Reserve monetary policy.

ANZ analysts said the recent losses in gold and other precious metals were fueled largely by profit-taking, after a “meteoric rise” in recent weeks. But they predicted that any weakness may be “short-lived and shallower,” adding that several catalysts still remained to push gold higher. 

“We see structural drivers for gold still in place to support higher prices. The Federal Reserve is expected to remain on its easing path amid increasing downside risks to employment,” ANZ analysts wrote in a note. They also said the prolonged federal government in the U.S. would keep investors broadly risk-averse, bolstering gold. 

The yellow metal later recovered much of its earlier declines, with investors indeed continuing to fret over broader economic and political uncertainty in countries around the world. 

Meanwhile, bets that the Fed will opt to once again reduce rates by a quarter of a percentage point at its October 28-29 gathering remained intact, even with the lack of fresh official data, CME’s FedWatch Tool showed. Non-yielding gold tends to perform better in a low-rate environment. 

(Scott Kanowsky contributed to this report)