CNBC Daily Open: AI is drawing investors' attention away from fresh tariffs
On Wednesday, Trump posted a fresh slate of letters announcing tariff on goods from at least seven more countries.
AbJimroe
Cranes unload the cargo of Panamanian flagged bulk carrier Star Taishan at the Port of Rio Grande, southern Brazil, on May 6, 2025.
Silvio Avila | AFP | Getty Images
Just this morning Singapore time, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the 50% tariff on copper imports, which he announced earlier on Tuesday, will begin on Aug. 1.
On Wednesday, Trump posted a fresh slate of tariff letters on goods from at least seven more countries, including Mexico, the no. 1 importer of goods to the U.S., Philippines, Brunei and Sri Lanka.
But the president took a few steps further with Brazil by threatening a 50% tariff on the country. This is partly in response to the ongoing trial of his vocal ally Jair Bolsonaro over the role of Brazil's former president in an alleged coup to overturn his 2022 reelection loss.
The 50% tariff on Brazil marks the largest duties rate that the White House has imposed on its trading partners in the recent round of new levies, which are set to begin on Aug. 1.
But it appears that investors have decided to approach Trump's tariffs by not responding at all. They seem to have shifted their focus away from tariff developments and instead rekindled their appetite for artificial intelligence.
On Wednesday, traders boosted shares of Nvidia, causing the company to be the first in the world to touch a market capitalization of $4 trillion. Other major tech names also rose, including Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Alphabet.
What you need to know today
New tariff developments. Trump revealed updated tariff rates on the Philippines, Brunei, Moldova, Algeria, Iraq, Libya and Sri Lanka, via screenshots on Truth Social. The 50% duty on copper imports is set to kick in on Aug. 1.
U.S. stocks rise as investor appetite for AI rekindles. On Wednesday stateside, all three major U.S. benchmarks were up. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.94% to close at a new high of 20,611.34. Singapore stocks hit a new high for a fourth consecutive day amid mixed trading in Asia-Pacific markets Thursday.
Bank of Korea keeps rates steady. The central bank stood pat on its policy rate at 2.5% Thursday as it assessed the impact of recent measures to cool the property market. Housing prices in Seoul spiked over 19% in June on an annualized basis, according to Goldman Sachs.
Most Fed officials see rate cuts coming, but are split on how many. Officials saw tariff-induced inflation pressures as potentially "temporary and modest" while economic growth and hiring could weaken, minutes from the June 17-18 meeting released Wednesday showed.
[PRO] Potential in UK stocks despite weak economy. An asset manager sees opportunities in the London market that are "hard to ignore," picking three stocks that he thinks are undervalued.
And finally...
Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, speaking at the VivaTech conference in Paris, France.
Benjamin Girette | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Linda Yaccarino steps down as CEO of Elon Musk's X
Linda Yaccarino on Wednesday announced she is stepping down as CEO of Elon Musk's social media site X after two years in the role. Her departure comes one day after Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok repeatedly made antisemitic comments and referenced Hitler in response to posts about the Texas flooding.
Yaccarino did not give a reason for her departure, but her exit had been in the works for more than a week, a person familiar with the matter told NBC News.
— Ashley Capoot
