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Trump will open up tariff exemptions. (0:18) Meta vs. FTC. (2:19) Retail sales show the last picture of a consumer without tariffs. (3:30)
Below is the summarized transcripts:
President Donald Trump said he will provide an update on the administration’s proposed semiconductor tariffs on Monday.
On LAT Friday, the Trump administration excluded smartphones, computers and other popular home appliances from mutual tariffs. Exclusions include computer semiconductors and equipment used in the manufacture of semiconductors.
The exclusion issued by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency follows Trump’s move, imposing a 145% tariff on products from China and a 10% baseline tariff on almost every other country.
The 20 categories listed in the notice are exempt from 125% tariffs on Chinese imports and 10% baseline tariffs in other countries. Items from China still face 20% tariffs. This is a collection imposed to force Beijing to crack down on fentanyl.
The exemption is applicable to popular electronic devices such as smartphones, laptops, computers, computer processors, memory chips, flat panel TV displays, solar cells, and hard drives.
Guidance should provide some rest to smartphone makers like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPLand server manufacturers such as SAMSUNG (OTCPK:SSNLF), AI Major Nvidia (NVDA), Super Micro (SMCI) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), and computer manufacturers such as Dell (Dell) and HP (HPQ), Chip Major Taiwan Semiconductor Manufument (TSM).
Tech Bull Dan Ives has cut price targets for seven grand names like Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA) over Trump’s tariffs, calling it “the best news possible for tech investors.”
“Big Technology has returned from the cliff with these exemptions, which will change the overall state of high-tech stock as this Black Swan event was removed,” he Sid. “There’s a loud voice in the US tech industry and despite the first strong backlash against exemptions within the White House, the reality of the situation was ultimately recognized in the Beltway.”
On Monday, Meta Platform (META) will face off against the US Federal Trade Commission in a high-stakes astrust exam that could lead to the sale of Instagram and WhatsApp.
Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly lobbying Trump and White House officials to agree to a settlement that would prevent his company from facing antitrust trials.
Representatives from the social media and tech giant met with Trump and his senior advisers ahead of the trial, according to The Wall Street Journal.
As the revenue season rises, J&J (JNJ) will issue numbers on Tuesday.
Wall Street expects an EPS of $2.59 with revenue of $215.9 billion.
However, analysts at BOFA say JNJ may not be the best tariff read for pure Medtech exposure. Goldman Sachs recently upgraded J&J to buy from Neutral, claiming that concerns surrounding the loss of exclusivity in the company’s blockbuster drug Stelara are overkill.
Also, regarding the revenue calendar:
Monday, Goldman Sachs (GS) and FB Financial (FBK) report.
J&J will be participating on Tuesdays: Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), and United Airlines (UAL).
Abbott Labs (ABT) and Kinder Morgan (KMI) will weigh on Wednesday.
Taiwan Semiconductors (TSM), UnitedHealth (UNH), Blackstone (BX) and KeyCorp (Key) will step up on Thursday.
On the economic front, retail sales numbers in March allow traders to see consumers before the final tension.
The forecast is that headline counts will increase by 1.3% and 0.2% for former vehicles with core rates.
Wells Fargo Economist said: “Consumer confidence expanded the string of decline in the four months of March as it reported widespread deterioration in its inflation outlook and assessment of the overall economic situation.”
“The collapse of confidence coincides with the Bulls’ concerns that are expected to unfold over next year. Large ticket spending in March and April could surge as consumers withdraw those purchases before tariffs are bitten.
For income investors, Homer Foods (HRL) and Universal (UVV) will be present on Monday. Homer will be paid on May 15th, while Universal will be paid on May 5th.
Abbvie (Abbv) and Abbott Labs (ABT) will be located on Tuesday. Both have a payment date of May 15th.
And Colgate-Palmolive (CL) will become ex-Dividend on Thursday and pay on May 15th.
And in the Wall Street research section, Goldman Sachs strategist David Costin highlighted the deterioration in stock market liquidity and said he created a negative feedback loop with volatility.
“Sudden fluidity shock is usually associated with a wider range of returns,” he said.
Goldman’s S&P 500 liquidity tracker monitors the impact of bid spreads, futures market depth and trading volume on prices — shows liquidity has dropped sharply over the past month, but it’s surpassing the decline in the pandemic era.
One clear indication of market stress occurred on April 7th. This comes when the S&P 500 median stock bids expanded to 22 basis points. This is the best since March 2020. Similarly, futures market depth is categorized as the third percentile of the last 20 years, highlighting the difficulty of running large trades without moving prices.
Goldman has reorganized his fluidity basket. It consists of 50 comparable weight Russell 1000 shares with the highest and lowest liquidity ratios. Hyperfluid names generally offer narrower bid spreads and higher trading volumes, while hypofluid stocks tend to trade thinner and be volatile.
