US stocks end in red as Trump threatens more sectoral tariffs

ISTANBUL

US stocks ended in negative territory Tuesday after President Donald Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals as high as 250%, and separate levies on semiconductors and chips as soon as next week.

The Dow fell 0.14%, or 61.9 points, to close at 44,111.74.

The Nasdaq was down 0.65%, or 137.03 points, to 20,916.55, and the S&P 500 dropped 0.49%, or 30.75 points, to 6,299.19.

Trump announced plans Tuesday to impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals, starting with small levies that will reach 250% within years to encourage domestic production.

"On pharmaceuticals, we'll be putting a, initially small tariff ... but in one year, one and a half years, maximum, it's going to go to 150% and then it's going to go to 250% because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country," he told the CNBC network.

Additionally, Trump said he will unveil new tariffs on semiconductors and chips as soon as next week.

“We’re going to be announcing on semiconductors and chips, which is a separate category, because we want them made in the United States,” said the president.

Following the remarks on semiconductor tariffs, Nvidia fell 0.97%, AMD was down 1.4% and Qualcomm fell 0.54%.

The US president also touched on trade talks with China, indicating that the US and China are rapidly narrowing gaps on a trade deal that would see the world's top two economies dramatically reduce import duties against each other.

Separately, Trump said that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent "does not want" to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, but acknowledged that four others are under consideration.

Bessent "wants to stay where he is," he said, but declined to specify who is being considered to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

On the data side, the US’ foreign trade deficit narrowed 16% month-on-month to $60.2B in June.

It came in below expectations of around $62 billion and was the smallest since September 2023.